Joe Biden curses a Fox News reporter

US President Joe Biden has been caught on a hot mic cursing a Fox News reporter at a White House event after the journalist shouted a question about the impact of rising inflation on this year’s congressional elections.

As journalists were ushered out of a meeting of Biden’s Competition Council, Peter Doocy, a White House correspondent with whom Biden regularly spars, asked if it was okay to ask about inflation and if it was a political liability.

“That’s a great asset, more inflation,” Biden responded sarcastically over a din of reporters shouting questions, apparently not realising his microphone was still on. “What a stupid son of a b****,” he added.

Doocy laughed it off in a subsequent appearance on his network, joking, “Nobody has fact-checked him yet and said it’s not true.”

US consumer prices increased solidly in December, culminating in the largest annual rise in inflation in nearly four decades.

The White House and Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Biden’s expletive-filled answer drew reactions from White House reporters and Twitter users, with some backing the president and others opposing him.