Joe Biden shying away from the media spotlight fuels Congress

Taking his low key profile with the press has resulted in grumbling that Joe Biden has thus far not held a formal press conference. While the president now has one scheduled for tomorrow, this criticism, which does not seem to have moved much past social media and an occasional story, was a bit odd. The criticism was not that the administration is hiding information or that Biden is locked inside a bunker, as he regularly appears on the news, but rather that he has not been giving the press face time.

But the lack of a press conference should be seen in a more positive light that fits into a hopeful pattern of this new era. Biden, a former creature of Congress, may be the first president who is interested in helping the first branch of government regain its place in American politics.

The press conference is not really about holding a president accountable. Almost no president knows more about a specific policy initiative than the senior staffers tasked with handling it, so when reporters want to know the details of a proposal, they speak to those staffers or other insiders. While it may seem that the press conference holds the president accountable, any president knows how to use the harshest issues to his own benefit in using the glaring national spotlight as a public appeal to his base.

Reporters seem to believe a press conference with the president is similar to question time with the prime minister of Britain. Question time is when the supporters and opponents ask about a range of issues during an hour a week. It is viewed as more of a public relations event than a moment to provide answers, and it has been called “a load of rubbish.”

Like in the United States, it is not a real moment to find out information. It is about scoring points with the public, and the government always holds the advantage. What a press conference really does is center the political narrative on the president. His story as well as other comments he makes always lead the news. What happens in Congress, like drafting the actual laws of the country that will truly survive, is an afterthought.

Indeed, every president is well aware of this reality. The best instance is the televised White House daily press briefings that have often become focused on a “made for cable ratings” battle moment with the networks. Donald Trump thought to cancel these briefings, but he never followed through, as it allowed one more powerful tool to shape the story of the day rather than letting others jump into the fast news cycle.

Biden has already exhibited his willingness to allow Congress a real role in the political process. Rather than focus his first 100 days on nominees and executive orders, he let Congress receive the attention for the coronavirus relief package. Some of this could have been a calculation of the best way to move forward or to avoid blame. However, even after it passed, leaders in Congress had the chance to claim credit for the success.

Moving away from a focus on the press conference the president has for scoring points will bolster Congress. The cost to the White House is also minimal. Trump was criticized for not holding a formal press conference prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and set records for the longest time without a televised press briefing since before the administration of Bill Clinton, but he faced no real adverse effects while in office.

The crime of Biden is more along the lines that he is “boring.” But there is nothing that America, and especially Congress, can use more than some boredom instead of a flashy show of the press conference.

Joshua Spivak is a senior fellow who is focused on politics and history with the Hugh Carey Institute for Government Reform based at Wagner College.