The Question of ‘Why Isn’t Joe Biden Doing More Interviews’ Gets Definitively Answered – Opinion

Though White House press secretary Jen Psaki is soon to be headed over to NBC Universal’s “Peacock” streaming service for a cushy MSNBC-style gig, she’s being peppered with questions on her way out the Door about why President Biden is so often sheilded from the press and the “perception” that he’s not a very effective communicator when his handlers doDecide to let him go.

Psaki, for instance, sat down with Chris Wallace Wednesday to discuss the soon-to be-shuttered CNN+ streaming service. Wallace is quite tough with Psaki about the Media Avoidance Strategy, which was frequently activated daily by White House Communications staff.

Psaki dodged and weaved as Wallace asked her why Biden “is so sheltered from the press,” and dropped receipt after receipt on her, including the stats contrasting the interviews Joe Biden did in 2021 in comparison to interviews other recent presidents had done in their first year in office.

“By comparison, Jen, that’s sheltered,” Wallace correctly pointed out.

Indeed. And while the White House will gaslight the American people from now until 2024 by refusing to acknowledge Joe Biden doesn’t just have press access issues of his staff’s own creation but also messaging woes that are solely his creation, a definitive answer was, in a way, given to the longstanding question of “why doesn’t he do more interviews?” during a South Lawn ceremony Monday involving Biden and the players from the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won back to back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.

As you’ll see in the below video clip, things got off to a rocky start when Biden appeared to mispronounce NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s name. It sounds like he calls him “Gary Batman”:

Joe Biden calls NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman “Gary Batman” and one of the players on the Lightning standing behind him starts cracking up.
pic.twitter.com/KHUZrs8Mux

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 25, 2022

Tim Graham, Newsbusters’ executive editor, responded in the right direction:

“Why doesn’t he do more interviews?” https://t.co/uJrJ7bvTmN

— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) April 25, 2022

I should note that the official transcript at the White House website does NOT note in brackets that Biden mispronounced Bettman’s name:

Anyway, I want to thank Commissioner Gary Bettman and — for being here as well.

And at the risk of stating the obvious here, it’s a pretty good time to be a sports fan in Tampa. (Applause.)

I know some people seeing that will think “but it’s just one flub!” The problem is that it’s part of a long and troubling pattern, and it happens in pretty much every speech and public appearance he gives. He also frequently mispronounces names of Congress members and cabinet members. This is even more troubling than his inability to remember where he is.

None of this, I should reiterate, is normal, no matter how much the media, Democrats, and Never Trumpers paint these worrisome incidents as “just Joe being Joe.”

The answer to the question of “Why doesn’t Joe Biden do more interviews” is best explained by Joe Biden himself. Each time he speaks.

Related: Joe Biden Fiddles as Adviser Gives Brutally Honest Assessment of WH Midterm ‘Messaging Strategy’