President Biden kept the media at arm’s length, while he was definitely less combative than his predecessor with reporters, an approach that will be shown when he attends a White House Correspondents Association dinner this weekend.
Although Biden maintains a restrained and limited relationship with members of the White House press, he also maintains a level of camaraderie and respect for the media, which contrasts with the constant attacks that former President Trump has made on media trust.
This is an approach that administration officials say is deliberate and which Democrats say is part of Biden’s efforts to return the White House to a more normal relationship with the media.
“He likes the press, he appreciates what you all do, but he was a little compliant, deliberate,” said one administration official.
The administration official acknowledged that Biden had conducted fewer sit-in interviews and press conferences, but said voters were not interested and said the president had found other ways to reach out to a wider audience.
“No one is sitting at home and counting the interviews they do,” the official said. “Can he do more?” Perhaps. But what he has done is effective. ”
Saturday’s event will be the first since 2016 when the incumbent attended a dinner, a glittering affair that has become a major part of Washington’s political class. Trump has ruled out the event for all four years and even banned employees from attending the last time the rally took place.
Julian Zelizer, an American political historian at Princeton University, said the celebration of the president’s return to Biden’s dinner was important and symbolic.
“I think doing that is a way to fall in love on some level or just to show: I support what you do, even if there are limits to how much you hear from me,” he said.
The president can use his dinner address to emphasize the importance of facts and journalism in a democracy, something that can be seen as a veiled shot against Trump.
“We are facing by-elections, we have a number of truth-tellers on the ballot and an important message he can convey is that truth matters, that understanding history is important, that we must believe the facts, not lies, if we want to. to move forward as a country, ”said Basil Smickle, a Democratic strategist and director of the public policy program at Hunter College.
Biden lost his temper with several reporters and called Fox News White House correspondent Peter Ducy “stupid son of a bitch” in a hot microphone.
However, in general, he had a much less combative approach to the press than Trump, who was constantly fighting reporters.
Trump also engaged in regular lengthy and antagonistic conversations with reporters in the Oval Office and on the southern lawn of the White House – while Biden was less accessible.
The limited commitments are widely seen as an effort by the White House to keep Biden, who may be inclined to err in unsigned remarks in the statement.
“A president who is prone to blunders makes fewer mistakes if he is not in a position to talk to the media so that the blunder does not become history,” Smickle said. “Strict control of the message means strict control over it as well.
Biden has been featured in major television interviews with CBS, NBC and ABC, and has served with CNN City Hall. Only two of his interviews since taking office last year have been in print – one with New York Times columnist David Brooks and another with The Atlantic. Both interviews were conducted in the first half of last year.
Biden held a press conference in January that seemed critical of allowing less access. It may also have sent a message about his endurance, as the president spent 120 minutes asking questions about what is considered to be the longest press conference in White House history.
As vice president, Biden had different relations with the press. Every summer at the Naval Observatory, he hosted Biden Beach Boardwalk Bash for the press, often harassing reporters and their children with water pistols. He has also had frequent informal conversations with reporters at events and dinners, where he is known to express his views on any political topic.
He will make news in interviews, including in 2012, when he expressed support for same-sex marriage in NBC’s Meet the Press.
Zelliser says Biden may be both a pro-press president and not do many interviews, but that’s a risk balance.
“I think they can coexist. “We have just left the presidency that the press has been constantly attacked as an institution and you obviously don’t hear anything about it,” he said. “He’s crossing a difficult line.”
“He is trying to be one of the presidents, at least for now, who is limited in what he will give you. On the other hand, he is trying to say that he supports the press. You have to follow this line and see if it reaches a point where the press says it is too limited, “he added.
Biden’s appearance at the gathering will be even more remarkable because it comes during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted plans for the annual dinner for the past two years. Biden received vaccinations against COVID-19 and booster doses, but his age raised some questions about his attendance at dinner and other large gatherings. Vice President Harris tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and is currently working remotely from home.
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Psaki said Biden would not attend the event’s dinner and would probably wear a mask when not speaking, as the White House is looking to limit his exposure to the virus.
Barbara Perry, director of presidential research at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, says attending dinner this year could easily benefit Biden.
“It was such a historic time in presidential history that a president who did not want to come because of his completely hostile relations with the press, calling them an enemy of the state, then hit COVID,” she said. “This is another good stage, if used properly, for the president himself, who is serving, and also for the institution.
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