For some time now, President Joe Biden has been avoiding the press and dodging questions regarding the border crisis and his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal. He has shooed away reporters right after his meetings, even as multiple crises disrupt the nation. His ratings have sunk and not even Vice President Kamala Harris has been seen by his side. Biden has been vacationing and ignoring everyone in sight. The country went from a President that would answer any question to a President who answers none.
President Biden recently refused to call on U.S reporters after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took questions from reporters from the United Kingdom. They touched on a range of subjects regarding infrastructure, climate change, and lifting the ban on British beef. Johnson then opened the floor for questions from reporters, asking President Biden if it would be okay to take a couple of questions. Biden then replied, “Good luck.”
President Biden has not only implied that he is not in charge, but has shared when he can take questions and from who. He has told people he is not supposed to do certain things and that he could “get in trouble” if he takes more questions than necessary or calls on certain reporters. He even revealed that he is “instructed” on which reporters to call on from a pre-selected list. Not to mention, the White House has cut the audio feed from several Biden events, with the most recent one being his Sept. 13 briefing on wildfires.
During the take, Johnson took three questions from British reporters. Biden tried to answer one question about the border, although it’s unclear what the exact question was due to the shouted press pool. Biden replied by saying that the “violence is unacceptable” but the rest is inaudible. Johnson had been mid-sentence answering a question from a reporter when the press pool was quickly led out of the room by White House staffers.
The staffers filed a formal complaint against President Joe Biden for refusing to answer questions from American media while Johnson answered questions from his. Biden has angered the British with his disastrous Afghanistan pullout and the meeting between the two was to discuss pandemic, trade, and other issues. CBS News reporter Ed O’Keefe tweeted that the White House aides shouted down the U.S attempts to ask questions and that when they asked Biden about the border, they couldn’t decipher what he said.
White House Correspondents President Steven Portnoy said he filed a formal complaint with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki over the shouting match. They explained how no American reporters were recognized for their questions in the president’s Oval Office and that the wranglers loudly shouted over the president as he was trying to give an answer to O’Keefe about the border.
Portnoy requested a second press conference, citing how Biden continues to ignore reporters’ questions and provide a lack of transparency with the press. Washington Post reporter Ashley Parker notes that Biden ran his entire campaign on a promise to restore democracy and respect a free press. She said it was the British leader who put a spotlight on a flourishing democracy, not Biden.
Stephen Miller also points out how Biden has refused to take questions regarding the border, FDA boosters getting shot down, and the drone strike that killed 7 kids. Even his press aides have shut down reporters and herded them out of rooms.
Biden is everything the media says Trump was (and worse). Imagine if Trump treated the media like this?
