Though the White House press corps has generally been able to comply and respectful to Democratic presidents over the years, the seriously reduced access they were given to President Joe Biden in 2021 in relation to previous presidencies was a huge demotivating factor for many of them, including some of CNN’s Democrat sympathizers.
For the past year or two, Psaki’s regular response has been that Biden takes questions from reporters every day while traversing the halls of the White House or trotting along the White House grounds on his way to or from a scheduled function.
This is not the same as holding official solo press conferences in which reporters can do more than just holler out an inquiry and m hoping he hears it over the loud whirring sound of Marine One’s propellers or frantic handlers corralling the press away like cattle and urging Biden to quickly step away and exit stage left from the podium after his speeches.
Jen Psaki is well aware of this, which is why these events are organized in such a way as to limit the harm that invariably results when Joe Biden responds to a reporter’s question.
Chris Wallace asked Jen Psaki why Biden has been so sheltered from the press.
— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) April 20, 2022
Psaki got clearly offended and Wallace actually pushed back! pic.twitter.com/8QHJZPBoxS
Joe Biden conducted two solo press conferences at the White House and five on overseas tours during his first year in office. And consider that in his first year, Joe Biden conducted 28 interviews with journalists. In the same timeframe, Donald Trump did 95 while Barack Obama conducted 162. That’s sheltered in perspective.
It’s very humiliating for this White House to be compared to former President Donald Trump in any regard, especially when it comes to media access. Despite this, Psaki’s sole defense was that he handled questions from the White House press corps practically every day at the White House.
