Halfway into his first 100 days as president, Joe Biden has yet to hold a formal news conference, raising questions about accountability, but more importantly his cognitive ability.
As the nation deals with several pressing issues - a global pandemic, a crisis at the southern border and economic fallout from the year of shutdowns - Biden has gone longer without facing questions from the press than any of his 15 predecessors over the last 100 years, ABC News reports.
This does not come as a total shock, however, considering Biden barely answered any questions during the 2020 presidential campaign and would call a lid almost every day.
The contrast between Biden and President Donald Trump has been sharp, especially given Biden’s promises to Americans that he’d be transparent.
Unfortunately, he’s been anything but that: another broken promise.
The previous record of days without a formal presser was set by President George W. Bush, who waited 33 days before hosting one. Many others held them within a few days or weeks. Most recently, President Trump held his first solo news conference 27 days after taking office, and Barack Obama held his 20 days after taking office.
The administration must be aware of the speculation, as they promised Biden would hold a news conference before the end of the month. No date has been set, however.
Aside from one early engagement with the press, he has largely been protected from answering any questions. He does speak briefly with small groups of reporters, but someone always swoops in to usher him away before the questions get too difficult.
“The president takes questions several times a week,” Psaki said Friday, explaining that he has not held a press conference because “his focus and his energy and his attention” has been on COVID-19 vaccines and relief.
But, the job of the president of the United States isn’t to focus on one thing. It’s a tough job that requires attention on several things at once, which Biden can’t seem to handle.
“The president has done about 40 Q&As since he took office,” Psaki said.
But, those are often meaningless, as the tough questions are overlooked.
