What’s Biden Hidin’? Holds Fewer Press Conferences and Interviews Than the Last Five Presidents

Old Joe Biden has been pretending to be president of the United States for almost a year now, and he has pretty much mastered, with some difficulty, walking up the steps of Air Force One. However, one aspect of his presidential act could still use some work: in his first year, he has held fewer press conferences and interviews than Trump, Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. Biden’s handlers clearly don’t want him out there in front of the cameras talking, and it’s easy to see why.

Biden’s handlers have clearly taken Obama’s dictum seriously: “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up.” They’re clearly determined to give him as few opportunities to do so as possible. Even at the press conferences he has held, Biden has on several occasions made it clear that the people who are really in charge were keeping him on a short leash. Last June at the G7 Summit, Biden said: “I’m sorry, I’m going to get in trouble with staff if I don’t do this the right way.” At a press conference in November, the obliging presidential puppet gave the impression that he was not supposed to take too many questions: “I can take…I’m going to get in real trouble…this is the last question I’m taking.”

Biden’s handlers have limited his press conference access severely. He has only given nine during his first year as president, and three of those were with foreign leaders who were visiting the United States. In contrast, Trump gave 22 press conferences his first year. Barack Obama gave 27. Clinton gave 38, and George H.W. Bush 31. George W. Bush was the least press-conference-accessible president besides Biden, with 19.

Old Joe is hardly more available for press interviews than he is for press conferences. He gave 22 during his first year in office; Trump gave 92, and Obama 156, according to an analysis by Martha Joynt Kumar of Town University, director of the White House Transition Project. Biden has taken questions at other events that are not press conferences or interviews, but this enables him to give brief and cursory answers: “While President Biden has taken questions more often at his events than his predecessors, he spends less time doing so. He provides short answers with few follow-ups when he takes questions at the end of a previously scheduled speech.”​ – READ MORE