One Year into Biden's Term, Most Reluctant in Interviews and Press Conferences

(Photo by AP News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] An analysis revealed that U.S. President Joe Biden, approaching his first anniversary in office, has been the most reluctant among recent presidents to hold official press conferences or media interviews. Although he pledged to have "the most transparent administration in American history," he is being criticized for being the most neglectful in communicating with the public among all past presidents.

On the 9th (local time), the Associated Press (AP) reported this based on an analysis report by Martha Joint Kumar, a political science professor at Towson University in Maryland.

The report stated, "President Biden received more questions at events than his predecessors but spent less time answering them," adding, "He has mostly given brief answers when taking questions from reporters after scheduled speeches."

Since his inauguration in January last year until the end of the year, President Biden conducted a total of 22 media interviews, the lowest number compared to five of his predecessors.

Donald Trump, who frequently mocked the media, held 92 interviews in his first year in office, while Barack Obama (156), George W. Bush (49), Bill Clinton (54), and George H. W. Bush (46) all had at least twice as many interviews as President Biden.

President Biden held 9 press conferences, which is also far fewer than Trump (22), Obama (27), George W. Bush (19), Clinton (38), and George H. W. Bush (31).

The AP evaluated that although President Biden promised to have the most transparent administration, the White House has faced criticism for not lifting the veil on administrative operations and missing opportunities to communicate its agenda.

Steven Portnoy, chief of the White House press corps, said, "Brief Q&A sessions are insufficient to record the president’s views on public concerns. There were very few opportunities to understand the president’s perspective in the first year of his term."

Criticism was also raised regarding the frequent interviews with non-mainstream media such as social media and YouTube.

Brian Ott, a professor at the University of Missouri, suggested that one reason for Biden’s very low approval ratings might be the limited number of press conferences and mainstream media interviews, adding that without going through mainstream media, it is difficult to properly drive the agenda.

In response, the White House argued that President Biden frequently communicates with reporters at events, which proves the transparency he promised. They also explained that the COVID-19 pandemic situation affected the number of interviews and press conferences.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.