MEDIA

How to watch Joe Biden's first news conference of 2022 — and why you should

Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
President Joe Biden speaks about the government's COVID-19 response, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Thursday.

How to watch President Joe Biden’s news conference Wednesday?

With the genuine curiosity of seeing something that doesn’t happen too often.

That’s one definition of news, right? Something new? Whether you support him, you can’t dispute that formal press conferences, specifically set up as a question-and-answer session with reporters, are a rare occasion for Biden, more so than his most recent predecessors.

Biden is scheduled to give a formal news conference at 2 p.m. Arizona time on Jan. 19. Cable and broadcast networks will carry it live, if only for the novelty. Dog bites man isn’t a story, as they say. Man bites dog, on the other hand — and this is more of the latter than the former. The nightly news anchors for ABC, CBS and NBC will lead special coverage. That means they think it's a big deal.

And it is.

Why this Biden press conference matters

This will be Biden’s first press conference of 2022. Granted, it’s the middle of January, and it's not the end of the world if he doesn't pop up in front of reporters to answer questions five times a month.

Still, he gave fewer media interviews and held fewer press conferences in his first year in office than his five most recent predecessors, according to The Associated Press. He held nine press conferences (three of which were joint appearances with other world leaders) and gave 22 interviews.

Donald Trump, by contrast, held 22 press conferences and gave 92 interviews. More doesn’t mean better. Certainly not in this case, when Trump's appearances before the media often were carnivals of boasts, attacks, lies and misinformation. 

Barack Obama held 27 press conferences and gave 156 interviews his first year in office. And George Bush, in 1989 — before Fox News and MSNBC were around — held 31 press conferences and gave 46 interviews.

Some people will say it doesn’t matter. White House press secretary Jen Psaki is probably one of them. She has pointed out many times that Biden often answers questions informally. Indeed he does, and there are numbers for that, too. According to AP, Biden had 216 informal interviews in his first year. This would include reporters shouting questions as he was walking to his helicopter, say, or answering a few questions after a statement or speech. Trump had 120, Obama only 46.

Yes, it matters. There are a lot of reasons why, some of which are the age-old ones: The president of the United States should be held accountable for his words and actions in front of the American people. The president should answer tough questions, real questions from real journalists, not simply sit for partisan exercises in image burnishing, like Sean Hannity's 2020 Super Bowl interview with Trump.

What are press conferences for?

Press conferences are not ideal for journalists. The scoop is the holy grail of journalism, and you’ll never get one when everyone else is getting the same answers you are. But they are effective, for both the media and the president. He can get his ideas out there and try to defend them, after all, and everyone’s covering it.

The media, meanwhile, has him on the record answering questions.

So why doesn’t Biden do it more?

It took him a while to give his first, not until his 64th day in office; it was remarkable mostly for what it wasn’t: a contentious Trump-like lie-fest.

Conspiracy theorists will claim Biden is incapable, that he’s just propped up every so often because he can’t handle more. That’s absurd, of course. The slew of informal interviews puts a lie to that theory. 

There’s also the idea that he is just so busy trying to do the work of helping the country he doesn’t have time for such niceties.

Which is also bunk. It’s a busy job, no doubt, but Biden could carve out an hour every so often for this.

Biden made waves with his Jan. 6 and COVID-19 speeches

No, he’s not the gifted orator that Obama was. Nor does he have Trump’s bombast. That’s why, while diametrically opposed in terms of belief and credibility, the two made for good TV.

But the thing is, Biden’s not bad at this. When he gets fired up about something, he’s compelling.

In September 2021, for instance, when announcing new COVID-19 vaccine requirements, he was angry and it showed. And it worked as compelling television.

“We’ve been patient,” Biden said, addressing the unvaccinated. “But our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us.”

His speech on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was remarkable, where he, without using Trump's name, called him out for his role in the insurrection.

“His bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution,” Biden said of Trump. This delighted some and enraged others. (See: every issue in American life.)

But it was really good TV.

Yes, a speech followed by a smattering of questions is different from the full-on barrage of queries at a formal press conference. But there’s no reason to believe a president, this one included, can’t handle both.

In other words, it’s about time.

When is President Biden speaking today? 

2 p.m. Arizona time Wednesday on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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