President Joe Biden joked to elementary school students that he has to try to avoid reporters’ questions as president.
During a visit to East End Elementary School in New Jersey on Monday, Biden joked, “You know, when you’re president, you see all these people here they’re with you all the time.”
“They get to ask all kinds of questions, and you try to figure out how you can avoid answering them sometimes,” he added with a laugh.
Watch the video below:
Biden jokes with a student at East End Elementary in NJ that he has to figure out how to avoid answering questions when he’s president. pic.twitter.com/RRoV15BNVf
— The Recount (@therecount) October 25, 2021
Biden has routinely avoided answering questions after events, often turning and walking out while reporters attempt to ask a question.
President Biden takes no questions again today after speaking about vaccinations. pic.twitter.com/ahNhzOC1Ja
— The Recount (@therecount) October 14, 2021
Biden leaves without taking questions pic.twitter.com/kQxkUva9iF
— Logan Ratick (@Logan_Ratick) October 13, 2021
Joe Biden leaves without taking questions pic.twitter.com/u48mFWgGcl
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) October 8, 2021
And in August, Biden toured the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters and gave remarks about the response to Hurricane Ida.
“I’m not supposed to take any questions but go ahead,” he said.
When the reporter began to ask about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden said, “I’m not gonna answer [questions] on Afghanistan now,” and walked away from the podium.
The President did not want to take questions at Afghanistan on his visit to FEMA.
— Zach Purser Brown (@zachjourno) August 29, 2021
REPORTER: "Mr President, on Afghanistan…"
BIDEN: "I'm not going to answer questions on Afghanistan now."
**walks off to address FIMA staff** pic.twitter.com/Mco2spdJZb
As The Hill notes, “Biden, who has seen his approval ratings drop as he deals with a rash of negative headlines, has also largely shunned reporters’ questions in recent weeks, including after his comments on a poor September jobs report and again following the slowdown of the U.S. supply chain.”
“The interviews that Biden has conducted have largely been traditional network television interviews, though the president has also sat down with People Magazine and ESPN for the start of baseball season,” it explained.
Additionally, Biden has sat down for 10 interviews, lagging behind former President Barack Obama, who gave 131 interviews by this point in his presidency. It is also a lower number than former President Donald Trump who gave 57 interviews by this point in his presidency.
Politico also noted that as vice president, Biden gave at least twice the number of interviews by this point in 2009.
According to the outlet, allies of the president “note that no one outside of the Washington press corps really cares about press access.”
