Pres. Joe Biden Calls Reporter "Pain in the Neck" After Asking About COVID Vaccine When He Wanted to Be Asked About Iraq

U.S. President Joe Biden slammed a reporter for asking him a question about the COVID vaccine mandate, calling the reporter a "pain in the neck."

The question was off his preferred topic of Iraq, with the reporter involved NBC's Kelly O'Donnell asking him to comment on frontline Veteran Affairs workers being required to get a COVID Vaccine, according to a Fox News report.

Biden told the reporter that she was "such a pain in the neck." He added that he is still going to answer the question as they have known each other for so long.

O'Donnell said that she took the president's comments as a "compliment."

Biden Lashing Out on Reporters

Biden was earlier reported to lashed out on a CNN reporter during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

CNN's White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins asked Biden why he is confident that Russia will change their behavior.

Biden answered the reporter by saying that he is not confident, adding "what the hell, what do you do all the time."

The president's outrage caught the critics' attention, according to an Independent report.

Cristina Azocar, chair of the Journalism Department at San Francisco State University, said that her first reaction was "Wow," adding that if it were a male reporter, Biden would not have been as dismissive.

Azocar added that there were already too few women reporters. She said that she feared some of her female students might look at the interaction and feel negatively about it.

Biden then apologized before boarding the Air Force One. He said that he should not have been such a wise guy, according to a Business Insider report.

The president apologized for his attitude toward the reporter.

Veterans Affairs Mandating COVID Vaccine

The VA Department had announced on Monday that they will be mandating COVID vaccines for workers with cases increasing across the count amid the Delta variant.

VA will be the first federal agency to mandate COVID vaccines for its workers, according to a New York Post report.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough said the directive will include health care personnel, such as physicians, dentists, and podiatrists, registers nurses, and physician assistants, among others.

McDonough announced that they are requiring vaccines for Title 38 employees as it is the best way to keep Veterans safe.

The VA Secretary added that may it be a Veteran or an employee, they deserve to know that the agency has done everything in their power to protect them from COVID.

He added that with the said mandate, we can keep their fundamental promise as an agency.

McDonough also noted that four VA employees died of the coronavirus in recent weeks. None of the employees that died were vaccinated.

The VA statement also disclosed that there has been an outbreak among unvaccinated employees and trainees at a VA Law Enforcement Training Center.

The decision of the agency came after Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said that the White House supports the move of hospitals to mandate staff to get vaccinated, according to a Daily Mail report.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by Mary Webber

WATCH: 'Pain in the neck': Joe Biden scolds reporter for asking off-topic question - from LiveNOW from FOX