President Joe Biden postponed his first press conference to celebrate the approval of the giant aid package to alleviate the economic effects of the coronavirus. But he will surely be pressured into Thursday’s question-and-answer session on all sorts of challenges that have arisen since then.
A pair of mass shootings, rising international tensions, the first signs of divisions within the Democratic Party and a growing number of migrants crossing the southern border face a White House known for its discipline in messages .
Biden is the first president in four decades to reach this point in his term without holding a formal question and answer session. He will meet with reporters for the evening event which will be televised nationally from the East Hall of the White House.
“It’s an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through coverage, directly through all of you,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. “And that’s why I think he’s thinking about what he means, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates and, you know, the opportunity to interact with a free press.”
He will appear a day after appointing Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the government’s response to the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border, where the administration faces a growing humanitarian and political challenge that threatens to overshadow the legislative agenda. of Biden.