Joe Biden Says He's Just Following Staff's Orders During Press Conference

President Joe Biden appeared to be confused during a press conference in Vietnam on Sunday, saying he will "just follow his orders" while looking through papers and speaking to reporters.

"I'll just follow my orders here. Staff, is there anybody that hasn't spoken yet? I ain't calling on you," the president said during the press conference.

This is not the first time Biden has been known to "follow orders" as previous press conferences have allowed the public to witness the president holding a "cheat sheet" during media engagements, suggesting he is given notice of the questions that members of the press will ask him ahead of time. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has previously said it is regular protocol and in line with the press office's job to "get a sense" of what the media wants to ask the president.

At the start of Sunday's press conference, the White House announced that Biden planned to take questions from five reporters. Shortly after the president took all five questions, he then joked, "I tell you what, I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed."

Jean-Pierre then abruptly ended the press conference as the president was responding to shouted questions from the press. She took to the microphone to announce, "Thank you everybody—this ends the press conference."

Although Biden remained on stage briefly following her announcement as he was responding to one additional question, his full answer was inaudible, CNN reported.

Sunday's incident comes after a CNN/SSRS poll that was published on Thursday showed about three-quarters of Americans, or 73 percent, say they are concerned that Biden's age might negatively affect his current level of physical and mental competence, and his ability to serve another full term if he's reelected in 2024. The president is currently 80 years old. In addition, a smaller 68 percent majority of Americans said they were seriously concerned about his ability to understand the next generation's concerns.

The survey, which was carried out from August 25 to 31, included 1,259 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

CNN's report about its poll shows much of the hesitation from those who were surveyed said it revolves around Biden's vitality rather than his handling of the job.

"I think he's a trustworthy, honest person. But he's so old and not totally with it," wrote one 28-year-old Democratic voter who was surveyed by CNN. "Still love him though. But I also wish he was more progressive. It's complicated."

Newsweek has reached out to the Biden administration for comment via email.

Despite the ongoing criticism of Biden's age, S. Jay Olshansky, a public-health professor and aging expert at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the Associated Press last month that he thinks age, when sizing up a presidential candidate, is not as important and the public's focus on it only minimizes the gift of wisdom and experience.

"It's sort of the classic ageism that we've been battling for the last 50 years," he said. "The age of the individual is irrelevant. It's the policies that they bring to the table that are important."