Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Joseph Curl.
Publisher's Note: This older post from the The Daily Wire serves as an ongoing archive of the history of these times, and thereby duly published, albeit a bit late.
Despite a pledge to
"bring transparency and truth back to the government," President Joe Biden has held the fewest press conferences since Ronald Reagan and just half as many as his predecessor.
Biden averaged just 10 news conferences per year during his first two years in office, including 11 solo sessions and nine with foreign leaders, According to The New York Times, which cited the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
In contrast, former President Donald Trump averaged 19.5 during his first two years in office, while Barack Obama averaged 23 and Bill Clinton averaged 41.5.
Biden has also taken to avoiding foreign press. Last week in Ireland, Biden skipped the longtime habit of presidents holding press conferences with foreign leaders while abroad. Then this last Thursday, when Biden met with Columbia President Gustavo Petro, there was no press conference.
Instead, Petro took questions from reporters at microphones on the driveway in front of the West Wing.
It's not just press conferences. Biden has done fewer interviews than any president since Reagan - just 54. In contrast, Trump did 202 and Obama 275, the Times reported.
The White House said Biden is trying to connect with Americans directly.
"Our ultimate goal is to reach the American people wherever and however they consume media, and that's not just through the briefing room or Washington-based news outlets," White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt told the paper.
"The fracturing of the media and the changing nature of information consumption requires a communications strategy that adapts to reach Americans where they get the news."
Biden is a self-described
"gaffe machine." By ducking the media, Biden avoids making verbal mistakes as he is prone to do when talking extemporaneously.
And even the liberal Times called out the president.
"The president's strategy of keeping the press at arm's length is a bet that he can sidestep those traditions in a new media environment. And it is public evidence that Mr. Biden's political strategists want to protect him from the unscripted exchanges that have often resulted in missteps and criticism," the article said.
For instance, when Biden delivered a speech last September at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in Washington, he gave a bunch of shout-outs.
"I want to thank all of you here, including bipartisan elected officials like ... Senator Braun, Senator Booker, Representative ... Jackie, Jackie are you here?" Biden said, searching for Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN).
"I think she was going to be here to help make this a reality."
The problem: Walorski was dead. She died, along with three others, in a head-on car crash on August 3.
The gaffes are always inconsequential. Asked whether the U.S. would intervene if China were to invade Taiwan, Biden said:
"Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack."
While the U.S.'s
"one China" policy does not recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, the U.S. does acknowledge the Chinese government's position that Taiwan is a part of China.
The administration swiftly walked that one back.
"When the President of the United States wants to announce a policy change, he will do so. He has not done so," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
The views expressed in this piece are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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