State Department briefing interrupted by a “rather large cockroach”

The US State Department had an uninvited guest during its press briefing on Thursday. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller was answering a question from a reporter when he spotted a cockroach that was crawling on the wall near a reporter. Just when he was briefing the reporters on a “serious matter”, he had to momentarily stop and resolve the issue before carrying on. It took a while before the briefing resumed. This is not the first time during a press briefing by a governmental authority, that an unwelcome visitor has interrupted the proceedings.

Incident:

The Spokesperson was answering a question on the issue of a conflict on the Israel-Lebanon border. He was saying that the US emphasizes on peace in the region before he spotted the cockroach. He immediately said “I hate to interrupt, there’s a big cockroach on the wall, over your head there. We’ll defer that-no insecticide, no roach-icide in the briefing, Matt”.

When there was a commotion, Miller added that he should not have pointed out the cockroach during the briefing. He added that people in the room were going to have a hard time focusing on the important message he was going to deliver.


Soon after the interruption, it appeared that the cockroach was dealt with. A slapping sound could be heard followed by a round of applause before Miller said the problem has been solved.

Not the first incident:

The appearance of this cockroach on Thursday is not the first instance of a pest interrupting an important press briefing. Five years ago, a similar incident was reported from the White House press briefing room when a mouse fell onto a correspondent’s lap. This led to the reporters panicking. The reporters had live streamed this incident on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in which the mouse fell onto a reporter’s lap and then moving away into the office area.

FAQs:

What does the US State Department do?
The organization is responsible for handling the foreign affairs and relations of the US. It is a federal body headed by the US Secretary of State. It also carries out various ancillary functions including issuing visas, passports etc.

How is the US Secretary of State appointed?
The US President picks an individual with experience in matters of foreign policy as the Secretary of the State Department. This will need to be approved by the US Senate before the individual assumes offices.