For President Biden, Thursday is question time.
The press will grill the president for the first time since he took office in January. The session will generate heat and light and hopefully there will be a lot of news, but we recognize something at first. The average-paced journalist cares much more about Biden’s responses and deviations than about the reader or the average reader.
In Biden’s case, I was one of the first to start asking him when I would make a press, but I recognize that members of my family care much more about stimulus controls than presidential press conferences. I would venture to say that most Americans don’t even know about the rush.
But: This is a column on media. We are concerned about the availability of Biden. And we care to take care of ourselves! Pressers are important symbols of transparency and accountability. They are also practical forums for answering questions. And reporters ’notebooks are overflowing with Q’s for the president. So here you have a wide range of columns, reviews and curtain lift parts …
Biden’s “soft talk” strategy
“Limiting your exposure to the press and, by extension, to the public is not simply a defensive ploy” by Biden WH “to avoid embarrassing embarrassment,” Peter Nicholas wrote for The Atlantic. “It’s a conscious calculation that people don’t need (or want to) hear from the president every hour.”
This is an obvious contrast to President Trump and important. Nicholas asked Bill Frischling, the founder of Factba.se, to crack the #s, and found that “since last week, Biden had spoken about 116,000 words publicly and spent 12 hours on camera as president.” while at this same point in 2017 “Trump had spoken almost three times as many words and had been on camera almost three times as much.”
On a related note, this description of Ezra Klein has stuck with me throughout the month: “Speak softly and enjoy a great agenda.”
How to prepare
CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins spoke to several sources who said Biden “has been preparing for days” and that he “recognizes the bright spotlight he will get. Biden has talked about his strategy with several members of his inner circle and even held an informal practice session earlier this week. “
The press, scheduled for 1:15 p.m. (ET), is a big deal in part because it will be Biden’s “longest question period since he was president” and because the WH waited so long to do so. ho, which spurred weeks of critical coverage by pro-Trump outlet. The WaPo team noted that the busy news cycle (from the border to Boulder) also means the press “has imported large dimensions …”
Views from the left
Many liberal activists are frustrated by the main coverage of Biden WH and are increasingly vocal. They are joined by some Never Trump Republicans, such as Jennifer Rubin
hit the WH press body while referring to the next press officer, saying “given his conduct in the newsroom, I expect the worst”
Former Clinton WH press secretary Joe Lockhart wrote in a CNN.com opinion piece that Thursday is also a “test for the media” because “Biden is not Trump,” that is, not a liar and a congenital bully. “The rules that evolved around Trump should not apply to Biden,” Lockhart argued. “Some of the White House press corps have understood this. Some have not. The press conference will be a national event about how the press treats the new president. Distrust of the media is very high in our country and it is too much aggressive or unpleasant. The press can do more to damage journalism than the president. “
Views from the right
“The delay in convening President Biden’s solo press conference may have had the unintended consequence of raising the bar for his performance,” Naomi Lim wrote for the Washington Examiner. So far, Fox News has been making headlines about this event for weeks. Former Fox host Bill O’Reilly, summing up the resentful POV on the right,
he tweeted that “the White House press corps wanted to harm Donald Trump,” but “it will be at 180 degrees tomorrow.” And Trump adviser Jason Miller reacted to this NY Post headline: “There’s no set date for Biden in the joint session of Congress yet.”
saying “They have to make sure a simple press conference can happen for the first time.”
Coverage notes and budgets
– Zachary B. Wolf and his CNN colleagues collected 30 questions for Biden …
– The presser will be live anywhere you expect, from CNN to broadcast networks. Lester Holt will anchor coverage on NBC; Major Garrett on CBS; and David Muir on ABC.
– Fox News will also broadcast it live, but I’m curious to see what other right-wing channels do and what kind of comments surround the press …
– Calvin Woodward of the AP presented a revealing look back in time about the import of POTUS presses …
– Jack Shafer said the WH avoided grabbing a presser because “the president knows the public doesn’t care one way or the other …”
– Clinton WH press secretary Mike McCurry was present at this interview with Lloyd Grove of The Daily Beast: “The usefulness of the press conference is that it really enforces better government …”
– WaPo media columnist Margaret Sullivan said the press is a “vital form of accountability,” but given Trump’s misconduct, it shouldn’t become a performative exercise in equating two administrations, just to show how difficult we are … “
