On Monday, April 15, President Joe Biden was spotted holding a crib sheet with scripted comments to the press during an Oval Office meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’a Al-Sudani.
The script also included all-caps stage directions for when he should pause his comments to allow an interpreter to translate
Biden referred to the script to deliver his first public remarks following Iran’s attack on Israel. The script included all-caps stage directions for when he should pause his comments to allow an interpreter to translate.
Biden was observed gazing down at the script multiple times while seated next to Al-Sudani. According to the New York Post, Iraq’s prime minister does not appear to use note cards.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, April 13, Biden reaffirmed US support for Israel during a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to reports, Biden has advised Netanyahu to limit his response to Iran’s attack because he feels the situation might escalate swiftly.
This is not the first time Biden has been seen referring to a note card.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security. We are committed to a cease-fire [between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip] that will bring the hostages home and prevent the conflict from spreading beyond what it already has,” Biden said during his remarks on Monday.
This is not the first time Biden has been seen referring to a note card. In April 2023, he was spotted with a card that appeared to carry a reporter’s question before Biden asked the journalist to ask him questions. He is also thought to have utilized note cards in private fundraisers.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister recently stated that the country alerted the US before launching a strike on Israel. “Early Sunday, in a message to the White House, we announced that our operation would be limited and minimalistic and aimed at legitimate defense and punishing the Israeli regime,” Hoeein Amirabdollahian said, according to The Mirror.
“In our response, we defined no response against civilian targets. Our armed forces targeted no economic or populated areas,” he said. He added that the goal of the attack was to “punish” Israel.