President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on March 2, 2021.
Joe Biden has been in office for more than six weeks without holding a personal presidential press conference, and a White House spokesman said on March 5 that Biden would hold a press conference at the end of March, after a reporter asked the White House why he was not hosting a separate White House press conference like other presidents.
Before Biden on March 6, 15 predecessors hosted press conferences about a month (within 33 days) after their inauguration as president. If Biden hosts his first White House press conference before the end of March, it will be more than two months after his inauguration as president.
Asked by reporters on March 5 why Biden hadn’t hosted a press conference 45 days after his inauguration, when other presidents have hosted them, some multiple times, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at first with a bit of an answer that Biden had been answering questions several times a week.
“He did take questions twice yesterday, and it was an opportunity for people covering the White House to ask him about what’s going on any given day,” Psaki said. “We’re expecting a press conference in the next couple of weeks, before the end of this month, and we’re in the process of setting a final date. Once we’re sure, we’ll let you know.”
Psaki also explained that President Biden came to office “in the midst of two historic crises,” a pandemic not seen in decades and a recession that put 10 million people out of work (the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis).
The New Coronavirus (CCP virus) pandemic triggered state lockdown measures that hit the U.S. economy hard, but before the Epidemic, the U.S. economic growth as well as employment situation was there to set several historical records.
According to the Trump Administration’s “Trump Administration Accomplishments” summary released on Jan. 17, the U.S. gained 7 million new jobs before the epidemic hit, more than triple the number predicted by government experts. Middle-class household income rose by nearly $6,000, more than five times the gains made during the entire Obama-Biden Administration. The unemployment rate reached 3.5 percent, the lowest point in half a century. For the 40th consecutive month, there were more job openings than new hires.
In addition, the largest number of Americans in history reported being employed, with nearly 160 million people; the number of people claiming unemployment insurance as a percentage of the population is at an all-Time low. Every metropolitan area in the U.S. saw incomes rise for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Psaki added, “I think the American people will understand if Biden’s focus, his energy, and his attention has been on making sure we get enough vaccine, getting all Americans vaccinated, which we will do by the end of May, and then moving forward with a bailout program that provides direct payments to nearly 160 million Americans.”
And the work on the subject of the vaccine development program began and was largely completed during the Trump administration. Both the Trump-era deputy health secretary and the current director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s top scientific institution, have publicly expressed their displeasure with the Biden administration for taking full credit for vaccine development, production, and distribution.
Reporters continued to press that Biden taking weekly questions is not what the media wants, and that Biden has not given the media half as long a press conference. “We might be able to ask two questions and then get kicked out. So why can’t he stand and answer questions from the media? Is it because he’s too busy?”
Biden did answer questions, counting almost 40 times, according to Psaki. His focus is on bringing restoration and relief to the American people. He looks forward to continuing to talk to all of you and other members of the media who are not here today, and the White House will let you know as soon as the press conference is finalized.
For the most part since Biden took office, he has answered reporters’ questions by taking one or two questions at a time, in complete contrast to former President Trump, who often interacted with the media after a formal press conference and then took a dozen questions.
In a March 3 interview with Fox host Sean Hannity, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also mentioned that Biden has been in office for six weeks now and has not held a single personal press conference with the president, while the Trump administration has interacted frequently with the media.
Pompeo compared this, saying: President Trump will come out, he always talks to the media, probably more than any modern president, and he talks to the media about a wide range of topics.
Pompeo did not nominate said the Biden administration, “When a leader can’t do that, when he can’t answer questions, when he can’t explain his policies, when it looks like he’s hiding in the background, for whatever reason, maybe it’s poor scheduling or he really doesn’t have time. But leaders around the world are watching and weighing in.”
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