Opinion | Press conferences now extinct as Biden lets TikTokers do the talking – By Joe Concha (The Hill) / Apr 16 2023
It has been more than 150 days since President Biden held a formal press conference at the White House. For context, the average person could walk across the continental U.S. in less time.
Let that sink in: The U.S. president has refused to speak with any reporter who isn’t pre-approved from a very short list in the past five months. And his advisers certainly seem to want no part of a press conference format, which can be wide-ranging and (if journalists do their job right) uncomfortable.
For context, George H.W. Bush held 90 solo press conferences in his term as president.
Bill Clinton had 59 over two terms; George W. Bush, 49 over his eight years; Barack Obama, 64 from 2009-2016; and Donald Trump held 44 from 2017-2021.
