Reporters in the White House press briefing expressed visible astonishment when President Joe Biden made his entrance into the room on Friday, marking his first occasion to address questions during his administration.
Biden unexpectedly appeared in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room to discuss the most recent jobs report and engage with reporters for approximately 15 minutes. The journalists reacted with gasps as the president entered the room for the inaugural time in his presidency, accompanied by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
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As President Biden commenced his fourth year in office, he was noted for conducting the fewest press conferences annually, averaging 11, a record low since the tenure of former President Ronald Reagan, as per data from the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. By February 2024, Biden had engaged in fewer media interviews than his predecessors, totaling only 86 interviews since his inauguration in 2021, according to NBC News. Following an early morning report from Axios, it was revealed that the president had not scheduled any public events on 43 out of the 75 days since he concluded his 2024 campaign. Among the public events he did attend, only two were arranged before 11 a.m., none before 10 a.m., and five occurred after 5 p.m., as indicated by the Axios analysis. Furthermore, Axios reported that the president has participated in all calls and meetings with world leaders, with the exception of one instance, during the hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. since exiting the race.
Our WH press corps has repeatedly
invited the president to visit the briefing room to take questions. Today he did so for the first as president. We hope he returns and that future presidents will connect with the American people this way as well. It's an important tool of a… https://t.co/EPx61OpUOk— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) October 4, 2024
