President Biden criticized the media for not taking the 2024 election seriously, but his own lack of accessibility has undermined his message.
In the wake of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, President Biden's admonishments to the media have fallen flat. Despite urging them to "rise up to the seriousness of the moment," Biden himself has been the least accessible president in modern history, undermining his own message.
According to a White House reporter, Biden's criticisms hold little weight when they come from a president who has held only three press conferences in the past 16 months, compared to Donald Trump's 35 in his final year. Biden has also refrained from sitting down with editorial boards of major newspapers and opted for interviews with more sympathetic hosts like Howard Stern.
Media figures have echoed these concerns. Fox News contributor Joe Concha believes Biden's comments at the dinner were absurd, noting his lack of engagement with serious journalists. OutKick's Bobby Burack similarly criticized Biden's strategy of seeking interviews only with friendly sources.
Politico's media writer Jack Shafer dismissed Biden's claims, pointing out that numerous mainstream and liberal outlets have extensively covered the dangers of a second Trump term. He accused Biden of presenting a false choice between covering the campaign properly and engaging in frivolous "horse race" coverage.
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck argued that Biden should practice what he preaches and increase his accessibility to the press, especially if he claims that democracy is on the line. Houck noted that the press would be outraged if a Republican administration were to restrict media access.
Despite Biden's criticism, the White House vehemently disagrees that he is not accessible, claiming that he speaks with the press more frequently than most other presidents. However, The New York Times recently issued a blistering statement condemning Biden's unprecedented lack of media availability, highlighting the importance of independent journalism in holding the president accountable.
Biden's selectivity in interviews has been evident. He has granted interviews to local news outlets and friendly hosts, but has avoided high-profile interviews on national platforms. His last adversarial interviews were with PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff and ABC's David Muir in February 2023.
In contrast to Biden's limited accessibility, Time recently released an extensive interview with Trump, where he discussed his ambitious plans for a potential second term. Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
