'Where is the president?': CNN host presses White House official on when Biden will speak on Afghanistan

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar pressed a White House official during a Monday interview on why President Biden hasn't yet delivered a public address about the Taliban taking Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, asking, "Where is the president?"

Keilar spoke with White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Finer in an interview Monday morning after the Taliban captured Kabul on Sunday. White House officials are "discussing how Biden should address the Taliban's rapid rise to power," NBC News reports. In the Monday interview, though, Keilar pressed Finer on why this hasn't yet happened.

"Why isn't he out there now?" she asked. "Kabul fell yesterday. Where is the president?"

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Finer said that Biden has "spoken to this extensively, and I expect that he will speak to it again soon." But he didn't provide a timeline when Keilar asked if Biden will speak on Monday, with the CNN host arguing, "it seems like the moment demands that."

On Good Morning America, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the American people "can expect to hear from the president soon," but he didn't say whether this would happen on Monday. NBC News reports that Biden "could make a speech from the White House early this week, but no final decision had been made."