CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins said Monday on CNN’s “The Lead” that it was “pretty clear” President Joe Biden knew he was on a microphone when he called Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a bitch.”

Collins said, “We should note, he was speaking on a microphone, he had just made remarks to the room for about 10 or so minutes on this Competitive Council that they have formed here at the White House, and was pretty — it seemed pretty clear he knew he was on a mic, Jake.”

Tapper said, “Yeah, the microphone is literally right in front of him. It’s not as though he was walking in a back room, and he forgot that he had one clipped on his lapel. It was right in front of him. This is, of course, a president who, when he was vice president, in front of the world, went into President Obama and told him that ObamaCare passing was a ‘big f—ing deal.’ Again, a hot mic moment. But this one seemed a little bit more blatant even.”

Collins said, “Well, and Jake, I think the irony also is that the President was saying he wanted questions on the topic at hand. Inflation is related to this Council because, of course, that is something that they are trying to solve, something they have tried to talk about. It plays into the larger conversation about it. And then when he got that question, that is how he responded, Jake.”

Tapper said, “Yeah, he’s having a rough time of it.”

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