President Joe Biden is once again in hot water with Republican supporters, this time for his joke about the media’s coverage of his presidency during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
The President acknowledged his lack of public appearances, saying, “In a lot of ways, this dinner sums up my first two years in office. I’ll talk for 10 minutes, take zero questions, and cheerfully walk away.” While the members of the media laughed, the joke landed poorly on social media.
The joke was seen as an insult to the press and a disregard for transparency by many Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who pointed out that the media laughed “because they are on” Biden’s team.
Scott Jennings, a CNN contributor, slammed the president for “mocking the press,” saying, “For the journalists in the room: He wasn’t laughing with you, he was laughing at you.”
NPR reporter Tamara Keith, this year’s WHCA president, also joked about Biden’s elusiveness, saying that every president “privately and sometimes publicly bridles at his news coverage, and yet they invite us in and take our questions, though, sir, not as many as we would like.” This comment further fueled the criticisms from Republican supporters.
According to The New York Times, Biden has held the fewest news conferences of any president since Ronald Reagan, with only 24 press conferences under his belt. The lack of media access has been a major concern for Republicans, who believe the President is avoiding unscripted questions from the press.
White House officials defended Biden, saying that he had held “nearly 400” question-and-answer sessions, although the sessions were often brief and carefully controlled. The President’s reluctance to engage with the press has raised concerns among Republicans about the transparency of his administration.
In conclusion, Biden’s joke at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner has not gone down well with Republican supporters. They view it as an insult to the press and a lack of transparency on the part of the President.
The concerns about Biden’s reluctance to engage with the press have been a major issue for Republicans, who are demanding more transparency from the administration.
Source Fox News
