Joe Biden shying away from the media spotlight fuels Congress

Taking a low-key approach to the press has resulted in grumbling that Joe Biden has so far not held a formal press conference, which is later than any of his recent predecessors. Biden has now scheduled one for tomorrow, but this criticism, which does not seem to have moved much past social media and an occasional story, was a little odd. The complaints aren’t that the administration is hiding information or that Biden is locked in a bunker – he is regularly in the news — but rather that he is not giving the press face time.

But the lack of a formal press conference can be seen in a more positive light, one that fits into a hopeful pattern of the Biden presidency. Biden, the long time creature of Congress, may be the first president, perhaps ever, who is interested in helping the first branch of government regain its place in American politics.

These press conferences are not about actually answering questions or holding presidents accountable. Almost no president knows more about a specific policy initiative than the senior staffer tasked with handling it. When reporters actually want to know the details of a proposal, they speak to those staffers or other insiders. While it may seem that the questions hold a president accountable, any president knows how to turn the harshest inquiries to their advantage using the glare as red meat appeals to their base and allow the president to claim to be the victim of an uncaring press.

The press seems to feel these conferences are the equivalent of the British Parliament’s Prime Minister Question Time – where the Prime Minister is questioned by his supporters and opponents on a range of issues for an hour a week. Question time, which now seems more of a public relations gambit than a moment to provide answers, has been criticized by the former father of the House (the longest serving member of Parliament) as “a load of rubbish.” Like in the US, these are not real moments for serious inquiry or to find out information. They are about scoring points, and the house, in the persona of the person who is handing out the invitations, always has the advantage.

Presidential press conferences are the same thing. What a press conference really does is center the political narrative on the president. The president’s story – and whatever comments he makes — leads the news. What happens in Congress, such as drafting the actual laws of the country that can survive one president’s rule, is an afterthought.

Presidents are well aware of this reality. The best example is the televised daily White House press briefings which have frequently become focused on a made for TV fighting moment. Donald Trump looked to cancel these televised briefings, though he never followed through, as it allowed one more powerful tool to shape the big story of the day rather than letting others jump into the vacuum.

Biden has already exhibited a willingness to allow Congress a real role in the political process. Rather than focus his first hundred days on appointments and Executive orders, Biden let Congress receive the lion share of attention in passing the Covid relief package. Some of this may have been a calculation of…