A reporter from Newsmax surprised a spokesperson for Biden during a briefing by asking a question similar to Trump's claim of 'spying on the campaign'

Biden NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby was surprised by a question from the Newsmax White House correspondent. James Rosen asked a question resembling the Trump conspiracy theory about former President Barack Obama supposedly 'spying on' his campaign.

Kirby held a Zoom briefing with reporters on Wednesday morning, and Rosen — a often confrontational presence at White House briefings — posed three questions to the retired admiral.

Rosen’s second question — a clear reference to Trump’s conspiracy theory of being 'spied on' during the 2016 campaign — caught Kirby's attention.

JAMES ROSEN: Second question. Can you confirm that no facet or component of the national security apparatus, including but not limited to investigations on masking or surveillance in any form, is presently trained or focused on any current American political campaign?

MR. KIRBY: I am not sure how to answer that question. Are you suggesting or you’re asking —

JAMES ROSEN: I’ll repeat it, if that would help.

MR. KIRBY: — is the intelligence community spying on a political candidate?

JAMES ROSEN: Correct. Can you confirm that no facet or component of the national security apparatus is presently trained or focused on any current American political campaign?

MR. KIRBY: This is a question beyond the NSC’s purview. But just to put a fork in it, there’s no spying on a political candidate.

Kirby’s question closely resembled the discredited allegations against former President Donald Trump made regarding his campaign's involvement in surveillance due to their connections with Russia. From CNN:

Did Obama and Biden spy on the Trump campaign?
CLAIM
Trump said, “Well, look, the Obama campaign spied on our campaign, and they’ve been caught, all right?” He added, “It’s probably treason. It’s a horrible thing they did. … They used the intelligence agencies of our country to spy on my campaign, and they have been caught.”

CONCLUSION
This is comprehensively wrong. There is no evidence that Obama or Biden personally directed the FBI to surveil people in the Trump campaign

EVIDENCE
Term-limited President Barack Obama did not run a “campaign” in 2016, when the FBI investigated the Trump campaign’s relationship with Russia; nothing related to the Russia investigation comes remotely close to meeting the Constitution’s definition of treason.

Also, FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump, has said he would not use the word “spying” to describe what he called “surveillance activity.” But that is more subjective.

Watch the clip above.