Reporters at the Monday White House press briefing voiced their disagreement with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s claim that President Joe Biden answers an "unprecedented" number of shouted questions, showing even mainstream reporters are frustrated with Biden’s inaccessibility.
"This is not the norm. The norm is we do get an opportunity to ask questions," a reporter told Jean-Pierre Monday. She replied that it’s "also unprecedented that a president takes as many shouted questions as this president has."
Several reporters replied by shouting "no." Jean-Pierre said she would "get the data" and share it with the press corps.
Reporter on Biden not taking questions: "This is not the norm. The norm is we do get an opportunity to ask questions."
KJP: "It is also unprecedented that a president takes as many shouted questions as this president has."
Many reporters in the room tell her that's not true pic.twitter.com/VuuTs4aJYb
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 10, 2023
The disagreement suggests mainstream media reporters are frustrated with Biden’s unwillingness to answer questions, especially in a press conference format.
Biden has held a record low level of press conferences. Tracking by the University of California Santa Barbara found Biden has held around 21 total press briefings in his nearly two and a half years in office. Former president Donald Trump held that many in just his first year.
Biden has granted less than a quarter as many interviews as Trump at the same point in his presidency.W
When Biden does give answers to reporters, the New York Post reported, they are often neither long nor substantive.
"They often are extremely brief engagements that can feature as little as a single-word reply before the commander-in-chief walks away," according to the Post.
The spat comes two months after Biden refused to answer questions after his address on the United States shooting down unidentified objects following the Chinese spy balloon incident. Biden instead said the press needed to be more "polite" before walking away.
Biden often is filmed smiling and ignoring questions as his staffers kick press out of the room following the conclusion of an event.