WASHINGTON — President Biden took a Pilates class in Lake Tahoe Wednesday as global news coverage focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent assassination of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a mutiny against the Kremlin two months ago.

Biden, 80, pulled into a shopping center near where he is vacationing at billionaire Tom Steyer’s Nevada home about 25 minutes after Russian state news agency TASS reported on the downing of Prigozhin’s jet outside Moscow.

When the president emerged, he told reporters he didn’t “know enough” to comment on the developments because “I’ve been working out for the last hour and a half.”

The White House said as cable news outlets focused almost entirely on the latest developments in Russia, “The President, First Lady, and members of their family are taking a Pilates class followed by a spin class.”

After he finished his exercise, Biden said he wasn’t sure what exactly had happened.

“When I was asked about this by you, I said I’d be careful what I drank and what I rode in. I don’t know for a fact what happened but I’m not surprised,” the president said.

Asked if he thought Putin was responsible, Biden said, “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough to know the answer.”

Biden arrived for Pilates about two-and-a-half hours after a plane with Prigozhin on the manifest crashed and burned outside Moscow, according to Russian state media.

Putin, 70, is known for ruthlessly eliminating rivals during his more than two decades in power and Prigozhin’s apparent death comes as he continues a stalled 18-month invasion of Ukraine.

Who was Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin as a talented businessman following the plane crash that apparently killed him.

Prigozhin was the owner of the private military contractor Wagner Group.

Prigozhin planned to capture the Russian military’s top officials during his attempted coup.

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Prigozhin and his mercenary fighting force did not face charges and were instead exiled despite leading an armed insurrection against the Kremlin.

Prigozhin began his career as a petty criminal — he was convicted of robbery and assault in 1981 and served 12 years in prison.

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He criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense as incompetent and accused it of withholding arms and ammunition from his troops, who were fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine.

Prigozhin was indicted in the United States for interfering in the 2016 presidential election through his infamous internet “troll factory.”

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The US government has appropriateed $113 billion to aid Kyiv’s defense and Biden recently requested another $20.6 billion, despite mounting domestic skepticism.

Prigozhin’s reported death came hours before the first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate.

“We have a leader that unfortunately falls asleep during meetings. He’s not the leader that we expect to have in the United States, the one that is setting policy direction, one that leads by example. And we need a new leader in the White House and tonight we’re gonna see a glimpse of some potential new leaders,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told Fox News Wednesday afternoon.

“I hope that they can talk about their vision for what role the United States plays in Ukraine and as well as Russia moving forward,” Comer added, “because I honestly don’t know what our role is right now from the Biden perspective, other than continuing to send Ukraine a blank check.”