Biden takes a victory lap on economy in surprise visit to White House briefing room

President Joe Biden chose to surprise the White House press corps and come to the briefing room for the first time just months before the end of his presidency.

You could hear gasps as the president walked in.

"Hey, folks. My name's Joe Biden. Welcome to the swimming pool," he said, a reference to the indoor pool just below reporters' feet that was converted in 1970 to become the briefing room.

His appearance came after a splashy 24 hours of good economic news: the end of a major port strike and a strong jobs report that exceeded expectations.

"From the very beginning we were told time and again that the policies we were pursuing, we put forward, weren't going to work and would make things worse. Some on the other team are still saying they're gonna make things worse. But we've proven them wrong," Biden said.

He then ticked through investments made in the American Rescue Plan, vaccinating the nation, pandemic relief efforts and tied it all to low unemployment, record-breaking new job creation, a high stock market, prescription drug negotiations and lowered inflation.

"The simple fact is we've gone from an economy in crisis to having the strongest economy in the world," the president said, though also acknowledged they've "got more work to do."

Biden has had fewer public events since he ended his reelection bid, and he's only campaigned with Vice President Kamala Harris once since she replaced him at the top of the ticket.

Biden has been criticized throughout his administration for limiting press conferences and unscripted moments, while keeping reporters at arm's length.

His decision to come to the briefing room on Friday underscores his confidence in the economy, as the president focuses on cementing his legacy in these remaining months.

Biden also pushed back at Republicans, like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who've suggested the latest economic data is false.

"If you notice, anything the MAGA Republicans don't like, they call fake -- anything," he said. "The job numbers are what the job numbers are. They're real, they're sincere."

Biden took several questions from the press and engaged in our follow-up questions. I pressed Biden about his relationship with Netanyahu and his ability to influence him. Biden answered three of my questions about the Middle East, insisting that their teams are "constantly in contact" and that Israeli is not "going to make a decision immediately" on how to retaliate against Iran. When I pressed Biden on whether the Israelis would take his advice, Biden added that Israel has to be "very much more careful about dealing with civilian casualties."

He seemed reluctant to leave at the end and even joked when asked if he was reconsidering his decision to drop out of the race. "I am back in," he quipped.

But this appearance only came at the end of Biden's presidency, despite repeated requests from reporters for him to come to the briefing. When reporters asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre why it took Biden three and a half years to show up, she simply said: "He came today and you got to see him."

The White House seems pleased with how that went, with one senior aide telling us: "That was fun."

ABC News' Justin Gomez and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.