The day finally arrived.
President Joe Biden made his solo news conference debut Thursday at the White House, following criticism from both sides of the political aisle over his reluctance to speak directly with reporters more than two months into his administration.
Biden became the first commander-in-chief in several generations to go this long without holding a formal question-and-answer session among the Washington press corps. Even before the event, corporate media was making certain to support the president, with one unhinged columnist saying Biden himself should “fact-check” reporters.
Mendacious Chief of Staff Ron Klain orchestrated every question at the event; nonetheless, here are a few items that caught my eye:
I was not surprised the first question was given to a 30-year old, double-masked AP reporter. Like others, he went to some softball “Republican obstruction” nonsense. With maybe two exceptions — ABC’s Cecilia Vega and NBC’s Kristen Welker — the entire charade reminded me of a Democrat strategy session. The president did not call on Fox News, the most-watched channel in America.
It is remarkable that none of the 10 questions were about the global pandemic, which was refreshing to me, but disappointing to the Covid Industrial Complex. They lashed out today because they want to perpetuate the issue.
The border matter is a train wreck, so I suppose it’s fitting that far-left bigot Yamiche Alcindor led it off. She coined the pathetic “nice guy” line, which Biden happily kept playing. It’s rather revisionist and insufferable if anyone remembers parts of his U.S. Senate tenure.
I am disappointed Biden decided to ignore the crux of his border debacle and again disingenuously blame his predecessor. The Trump administration did not leave migrant children to starve in Mexico, as Biden cruelly claimed. And saying Trump’s policies didn’t slow down the flow at the border is either astonishingly misinformed or a blatant lie — similar to claiming the majority of illegal immigrants are being sent back.
But what else should we expect from a man who believes a cackling authoritarian — who compared ICE agents to the KKK — is “the most qualified person” to handle an international crisis?
As Arizona’s governor noted Wednesday, “At no point in her career has Harris given any indication that she considers the border a problem or a serious threat.”
If the filibuster is “a relic of the Jim Crow era,” then why did Senate Democrats use it a few months ago to block Tim Scott’s police reform bill? Scott is the first African-American elected to the Senate from a southern state since Reconstruction.
No one remembers Alcindor’s inane questions, but like CNN’s representative, she outright lobbied Biden to end the filibuster, favorably quoting congressional Democrats while slamming Republicans. Alcindor represents affirmative action “journalism” at its worst.
The president has defended and engaged in many filibusters, while his party happily used it the past six years.
Why no questions about anti-science teachers unions still whining incessantly as the administration takes faux steps to reopen schools? Instead we got the dreaded “invest in infrastructure” topic. I love when politicians try to convince us we live in a third world country with falling bridges and no roads. It’s a lie. We spend tons on infrastructure already.
As Jim Geraghty opined moments after the presser’s conclusion, “Biden is his usual garrulous, meandering, cliché-loving 78-year-old self. He’s always going to be convinced he’s saving ‘the soul of America,’ that his critics are so unfair and impatient, that the expectations are so high, and that there’s no gap between what he’s promised and what he’s delivered.”
I’d also remind everyone that a press conference should be routine, not an overhyped, make-or-break moment, but when you have such infrequent sessions with reporters, it becomes a major event. Because I had low expectations, I won’t say Biden outright failed today, since 80% of what he was asked came from activists on his left flank, not serious journalists.
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A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
