It only took about 835 days of the Biden presidency, but the editorial board of The Washington Post took a stand on Tuesday for self-respect: “Biden no longer does press conferences. That’s not acceptable.” They lamented “The president and his team promised transparency. Instead, he is stonewalling the media.”
Or, as they noted, he said last Friday he would have a “press conference,” and then it turned out to be a softball interview with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle instead. In the paper, the headline was "Is Mr. Biden afraid of us?"
President Biden hasn’t dropped the microphone; he appears to have lost it. Mr. Biden is turning into a news media evader, and it’s harmful to his presidency and the nation….
So far in 2023, Mr. Biden has done zero solo news conferences. He did conduct two “joint news conferences” in which the president and a visiting foreign leader faced the media together.
But even in that case, Biden only has to take two questions, a limited risk. He’s not answering questions from ten or 12 reporters over an hour.
Taking questions from the media promotes public accountability. It also shows that the president is willing to defend his positions and instills confidence that he can do the job. It is widely known that Mr. Biden is gaffe-prone and that news conferences are not his forte. But as he runs for a second term, he should be eager to show he can handle all aspects of the job.
Pick up the microphone, Mr. President. The media is not your enemy.
Obviously, that’s true. The Post gauzily endorsed Biden in 2020 as vastly superior to Trump – experienced, decent, and…transparent? That editorial slyly evaded press access as a reason to vote for Joe. They weren't optimistic Biden's handlers were going to leave the basement strategy that worked during the campaign.
The Post editorial page squad lamented “Mr. Biden even joked at the recent White House correspondents’ dinner about how infrequently he takes questions from reporters.” That may have kicked them into this commentary. They didn’t add that Post reporter Matt Viser won an award that night from the White House Correspondents Association for a syrupy piece on Biden’s “deep” Catholic faith…which again proves “Mr. President, the media is not your enemy.”
