In surprise visit with reporters, Biden shares concerns about election violence

President Joe Biden said he was concerned that the upcoming presidential election might not be peaceful, using a surprise appearance at the White House Briefing Room on Friday to suggest that former president Donald Trump’s rhetoric may lead to a “dangerous” outcome.

“I’m confident it’ll be free and fair. I don’t know whether it’ll be peaceful,” Biden said of the election. “The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out, when he didn’t like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous.”

Biden’s comments, which also referenced the refusal by Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), to acknowledge the former president’s 2020 election loss, came during his first-ever visit to a space where reporters typically question White House officials. The president sought to use the opportunity to boast about strong economic news but ended up fielding questions about the crisis in the Middle East, the presidential contest and even the pope.

Biden, who has held fewer news conferences than his predecessors, seemed eager to engage with reporters after a strong jobs report Friday and a deal to end a dockworkers strike. He also seemed eager to point out that his detractors — some of whom had helped force him out of the presidential race in July — had been proven wrong by the spate of good news coming into view during his final months in office.

“Outside experts were wrong,” he said. “Inflation has come down. Wages have gone up faster than prices. Interest rates are down. A record 19 million new business applications have been filed for. The stock market continues to reach new heights.”

The appearance came as Biden — as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — have come under scrutiny for avoiding regular interactions with the media and unscripted moments. Surprise visits to the briefing room reflect a tradition that spans several presidencies, and one that Biden had skipped throughout his tenure before Friday.

Most of the questions the president fielded after his opening remarks were about the crisis in the Middle East, where the White House has been struggling to avert a regional war.

Biden said Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “remember” that his administration has helped Israel more than any other, in response to a question about whether Israel’s actions were part of an effort to influence the U.S. election.

“No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None. None,” Biden said. “And I think maybe Bibi should remember that. And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that.”

Biden added that Israel had a right to respond to Iran’s recent attack but also suggested that if he were in Netanyahu’s position, targeting Iranian oil facilities would not be his top priority.

“I think if I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden said, reiterating that Israel had not yet decided on how to respond.

Biden also said he was considering oil sanctions against Iran, but added that he did not want to discuss those deliberations publicly. The remarks came after Biden suggested Thursday “we’re discussing that” when asked whether he would support an attack on Iranian oil facilities by Israel, though he cut himself off before completing his thought. Oil prices jumped after Biden’s comment.

Biden on Friday also responded to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) recently dismissing the latest jobs report as “fake,” laughing before rejecting the comments.

“I’m going to be very careful here. If you notice anything that MAGA Republicans don’t like, they call fake,” Biden said, before adding that the numbers were real.

The latest jobs report showed that U.S. employers added 254,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent in September.

At one point, Biden was asked for his response to Pope Francis’s call for a day of prayer and fasting on Oct. 7, the first anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.

Biden said he would pray and fast.

The president also expressed support for Harris, who is running to replace him, saying “we’re singing from the same song sheet” and giving her credit for the administration’s accomplishments.

Biden, who has only sporadically campaigned for Harris since endorsing her in July, plans to visit Wisconsin and Pennsylvania next week — though not on behalf of Harris’s campaign. His Pennsylvania visit will be in support of Sen. Bob Casey (D), who is running for reelection. On Thursday, as former president Barack Obama begins a stretch of campaigning for Harris, Biden will be leaving the country for Germany and Angola.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had been planning to campaign this week but changed his schedule after Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast.

“The president is going to be president. He’s going to be commander in chief,” Jean-Pierre said. “And obviously he’s going to be supporting his vice president.”

Set to leave office in less than four months, Biden appeared in a playful mood at the end of a week that began with a series of crises — Hurricane Helene, the looming U.S. port strike and the escalating Middle East conflict. While many of those issues continue to pose challenges, the solid jobs report and dockworkers deal helped the president end the week with positive news.

“Hi, my name’s Joe Biden,” the president said with a smile as he approached the lectern in front of a surprised press corps.

As Biden was leaving the room about 15 minutes later, one reporter asked whether he would reconsider his decision to drop out of the presidential race.

“I’m back in,” he said, laughing as he departed.

Maegan Vasquez contributed to this report.