Joe Biden Stages 30-Second Photo-Op Responding to Explosion in Poland

President Joe Biden gathered with world leaders at the G20 summit in Indonesia on Wednesday for a special roundtable meeting to respond to the deadly explosions that took place in Poland.

The White House brought in members of the media for access to the meeting, attempting to demonstrate that Biden was in control and leading the global response to the crisis.

Poland said a Russian-made missile fell in the country, killing two people, according to the Associated Press.

The hastily organized roundtable meeting at the location of the G20 summit was announced in response to the news, and the media was organized to mark the occasion.

While the press expected Biden to address the crisis, he did not, simply staring into the cameras for about 30 seconds before his handlers asked the press to leave.

When one reporter asked the president if he could reveal what he had learned about the explosions, Biden replied simply, “No.”

Biden and world leaders meeting here in Bali

I asked if the president would supply an update on what they know about the explosion in Poland

Biden: “No.”

No other comments pic.twitter.com/3VGuTEPxL4

— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) November 16, 2022

The White House went live from the meeting to broadcast the video on social media, but it was muted throughout and was cut short 24 seconds after it went live.

Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich speculated that Biden might have been unaware that he was expected to speak.

Exact question: "Mr. President can you tell us what you know so far about the explosion in Poland, sir?"

BIDEN: "No."

it appears Biden was not aware he was slated to give remarks, as the WH announced to press https://t.co/BzfvUyceyc

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 16, 2022

Biden was seated in the middle of the table with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada on his right and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom on his left.

Also at the table were German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Earlier in the day, Biden called NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and also Polish President Andrzej Duda.

The White House stressed in a readout of the call that Biden offered to assist Poland in the investigation of the explosions and reiterated his “ironclad commitment to NATO.”