On Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki made a concerning revelation about how to answer questions from reporters.
‘Don’t Take Questions’: Jen Psaki Says They Often Tell Biden To Avoid Impromptu Interviews https://t.co/BD5sznvW81
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 6, 2021
In a CNN podcast with CNN Senior Political Commentator, David Axelrod, Psaki admitted that Biden taking impromptu questions from reporters “is not something we recommend.” Psaki also claimed that she at times would even tell the President NOT to take questions from reporters.
Axelrod and Psaki started discussing about the subject when the CNN Political Commentator asked Psaki about a specific instance when Biden Biden inadvertently ran into CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins at the White House. At that time, Collins then proceeded to ask Biden if a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour would be included in the COVID-19 relief package which was signed into law last March.
Axelrod then mentioned how Biden answered honestly, saying that he do not think the increase would be included in the Coronavirus relief package. However, the CNN Political Commentator noted that what Biden said might have given Psaki a lot of heartburn and made her ask herself why Biden would be permitted to walk around in the hallways making impromptu interviews. Axelrod then asked Psaki how she managed that.
Psaki merely laughed off the incident. She explained that the incident happened after she already left work and that Biden was on his way back to his residence. Psaki then claimed that Biden takes questions “nearly every day that he’s out in front of the press.”
The White House press secretary continued, “That is not something we recommend. In fact, a lot of times we say ‘don’t take questions,'” she added, “but he’s going to do what he wants to do because he’s the president of the United States.”
Psaki then revealed that the Biden administration has kept from being distracted by avoiding having Biden do more constant press conferences in which he would have to answer questions about certain topics.
The White House press secretary gave examples such as the impeachment of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Rep. Liz Cheney, adding that the administration wanted to focus Biden’s time on addressing subjects to which they claim the American people care more about. Including among them are topics about the Coronavirus pandemic and the economy.
It was on his 65th day in office that Joe Biden decided to hold his first press conference, the longest delay by a President in 100 years. I came away wondering if even he knew what he said because most of it made no sense to me. #OpeningStatement pic.twitter.com/LJazRR15Lg
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) March 28, 2021
On March 25, Biden held his first solo press conference. This is after his 65th day in office. This was then followed by heavy criticism coming from the media for not holding one earlier.
Biden’s solo press conference after his 65th day in office marked the longest a president had gone without conducting any news conference after taking office since former President Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s.
In addition to this, Biden has also been known to consistently leave announcements, speeches and other events without answering questions from reporters.
Last month, aides to president Biden made news as they ushered press corps away after they started shouting questions at an unresponsive president in the White House.
The incident happend when Biden visted a hardware store in the nation’s capital that benefited from his temporary extension for smaller businesses of the Paycheck Protection Program. After quietly watching Biden interact with store owners and employees, reporters started shouting series of questions at him to no avail.
Press corps ushered away after asking Biden questions — again https://t.co/ehnIsyQchI pic.twitter.com/WUUHStNuJt
— New York Post (@nypost) March 9, 2021
Afterward, handlers of Biden started yelling back assertively to the press shouting, “Come on, press, you gotta go,” as the entire group of reporters was quickly removed from the scene.
Biden on the other hand, who was standing only 15 to 20 feet away from the press did not answer nor flinch at a single one of the questions shouted at him, including one concerning the worsening immigration crisis at the southern border.
