US President Joe Biden appeared to lose his train of thought during today's press conference, offering a muddled response to a question about his promises regarding gun control. SOURCE / news.com.au
Opinion
No modern president had gone as long without facing the press corps, but astonishingly, there was not a single question about coronavirus.
ANALYSIS:
If Donald Trump's press conferences were like the Thunderdome, this was a genteel tea party.
There was no scrum of screaming reporters hurling questions at a combative president. No one got called "fake news".
Instead, 25 socially distanced and masked journalists sat amid the gold curtains and chandeliers of the White House East Room, putting their questions politely. For Joe Biden it was not exactly the lions' den.
"Thanks so much Mr President," said one, calling him a "moral, decent man". Biden smiled in response.
The president studiously avoided calling on Peter Doocy, a Fox News reporter who tailed him across the country in the campaign trying to ask impertinent questions.
For Joe Biden it was not exactly the lions' den. Photo / AP
It was Day 64 of Biden's administration. No modern president has gone that long without holding a solo press conference.
The two main subjects emerged as the immigration crisis – which the White House refuses to call a "crisis" – at the Mexico border, and the filibuster, an arcane Senate delaying procedure which many want abolished. China, US troops in Afghanistan, voting rights and gun control also featured.
Astonishingly, the president was not asked a single question about the coronavirus pandemic, which was what he did actually want to talk about.
Biden had prepared studiously for days, with aides preparing notes for him to study overnight, and a practice session held earlier in the week. He broke into a slight jog as he entered the room, and started strongly enough. However, after about half an hour the wind seemed to go out of him a bit.
It was, as Trump might say, a "low energy" event.
Biden frequently consulted his three-ring binder, with notes in 14-point font, and occasionally fell silent.
At one stage, seeking inspiration about the filibuster, he looked down and said: "I had a card on this..." He went on: "So, the best way to get something done... if you hold near and dear to you... that you, that you like to be able to... uh... anyway.." Proceedings moved swiftly on.
Photo / AP
Expectations for Biden's performance had been set low, and he exceeded those. He appeared to have at least most of the facts at his 78-year-old fingertips.
Nothing he said registered on the gaffe Richter scale. Biden's handlers had been bounced into the event by public opinion. Forced to finally let the president off the leash they sat in the wings looking a little nervous, hoping the president wouldn't lose his temper, or give rambling answers.
They scheduled the press conference in the middle of the day, when few working Americans would see it. A "controlled cop out," Republicans said. Biden successfully kept his temper, which he has been known to lose.
Photo / AP
There was only one flash of anger, on the subject of voting rights. He gesticulated and called efforts to impede voting "un-American and sick". So far, Biden's approval ratings have remained remarkably steady since he was elected, at about 54 per cent.
At the same stage he is significantly ahead of Trump, although well behind Barack Obama.
