LOS ALTOS, California — President Biden said two of Katie Couric’s former colleagues told him they’ll flee the country if former President Donald Trump is reelected.
Speaking Thursday at a posh fundraiser at the Silicon Valley home of multimillionaire investor Robert Klein, Mr. Biden took a brief departure from his prepared remarks to address Ms. Couric, who was in the audience.
“Two of your former colleagues — not at the same network — personally told me if he wins, they will have to leave the country because he’s threatened to put them in jail,” the president said.
Ms. Couric has worked at NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN as well as Yahoo News. In 2017, she founded Katie Couric Media, which creates content for corporate partners and publishes newsletters.
It was unclear which journalists Mr. Biden was referencing, and he didn’t reveal more details about the conversation.
Mr. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, has claimed that mainstream media outlets are biased against him and Republicans.
He suggested that the Politico journalist who reported a leaked copy of the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade should be jailed if he or she didn’t reveal sources to investigators. The comment sparked a backlash from the White House.
The Trump campaign has dismissed Mr. Biden’s remarks at the fundraiser.
“Just another example of journalists who have overinflated egos making themselves the center of attention because they have hyperactive imaginations,” Trump campaign spokesman Steve Cheung said in a statement.