Politics

Psaki’s Fresh Lie About Biden Throws President’s Media Aversion Into The Spotlight

WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki answers questions during Monday's briefing [Youtube:Screenshot:Washington Post]

[Youtube:Screenshot:Washington Post]

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed Monday that President Joe Biden’s administration always worked to get the press “more access,” but their actions have told a different story.

Psaki, addressing a question about press access when President Biden meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican, claimed that Biden’s ability to take questions on foreign trips often depended on the rules set forth by the host country. (RELATED: White House Press Corps Pushes Psaki On Why Biden Won’t Take Questions)

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“Often, it is the conditions or the – of what that country or what that entity proposes, and we always work for more access, we always fight for more access as we travel around the world,” Psaki said.

But in practice, the Biden administration — and the president himself — appears to avoid the press at every turn.

And the trend has been going on for months. When Biden has given public statements, he has often walked away without taking any questions.

Even during the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden appeared to avoid interviews and refused to answer questions about major issues like court-packing, saying only that he would answer the question after he became elected president.

The pattern continued into the presidency despite Communication Director Kate Bedingfield’s insistence that the president “never shies away from taking questions,” frustrating members of the White House Press Corps when he refused to field questions about Afghanistan and failed to give regular press conferences.

Biden’s aides even shouted down members of the Press Corps when they tried to direct questions at Biden after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took a few questions during a White House meeting.