Is the honeymoon over? In the past few weeks, the media has begun to criticize Joe Biden for his government’s attempt to manage all aspects of his presidency. After more than two months without giving a press conference – “the longest time that a new president has spent without meeting the press in the last 100 years”, according to The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi – Biden finally scored one for Thursday. In the meantime, the government is being criticized for lack of transparency in relation to the tens of thousands of immigrants that fill the southern border – a situation that the Biden government refuses to call a “crisis”.
Headlines like “The Biden Border Blackout” are appearing, thanks to journalists who have been denied access and have been prevented from showing images of the situation (including photos of detention facilities where children are being sheltered). “I respectfully ask US Customs and Border Protection to stop blocking media access to their border operations,” tweeted Getty Images special correspondent John Moore on Friday. “I photographed CBP under Bush, Obama and Trump, but now – zero access is granted to [the] media. “After a year of solidary coverage, the Biden team is treating the press the same way you treat a mushroom: keep it in the dark and feed it shit.
Now, I understand why they are doing this. On the one hand, it worked perfectly during the campaign. The COVID-19 pandemic gave Biden the perfect excuse to carry out a well-planned campaign. Think of the Democratic National Convention, which was conducted via … Zoom. There was zero chance of a turbulent delegate revolt – which is exactly what you want when you are the likely candidate. Imagine enjoying four years for this!
“[F]From a strategic point of view, it makes perfect sense, “a veteran White House correspondent told The Daily Beast about the absence of press conferences,” why would he want to be questioned about his predecessor all the time? Or Hunter Biden? There will always be uncomfortable questions, no matter who is in charge. But there is a question of responsibility here that he has just completely shied away from. It is very cute in half. It seems that they are doing this because they think [taking questions] it just throws them out of the message. “
In demonstrating a disciplined media operation, the Biden team knows that it is implicitly showing a stark contrast to Trump’s “shoot hard” mentality. We are always fighting in the last war; in the case of presidential policy, this means overcorrection for the last presidency. But as Trump and COVID-19 begin to fall behind in the news cycle, so will the media’s willingness to give Biden a chance.
“Trying to hide, cover up or minimize inconvenient crises cannot, and should not, work in a thriving democracy.“
That pattern started with Team Biden’s attempts to get reporters’ questions in advance and spread through the way they treat their own employees. Last week, the Beast reported that, “Dozens of young White House employees have been suspended, asked to resign or placed on a remote work program due to previous marijuana use, frustrating employees who were satisfied with the initial indications from the Biden government. that cannabis use would not immediately disqualify the alleged staff, according to three people familiar with the situation. ”
The reasons for this may have to do with an almost authoritarian, though irrational, bias against weed, or it may result from an extreme desire to manage the stage and relentlessly neutralize anything that could damage Biden’s image. I suspect the latter.
Biden’s honeymoon was doomed to end eventually. I see this as the first big test of whether Biden can overcome media skepticism and adversity in the same way that he defeated Donald Trump. The problem is that doing so will require him to unlearn a lesson: he will have to accept the fact that the discipline of the message only takes you so far.
We are biased in our belief that we can control things – that we can choose which issues to prioritize; admitting otherwise is horrible, reactionary and potentially paralyzing. But most of life requires us to play the hand we received. Remember when George W. Bush thought his presidency would be about “compassionate conservatism” and “No children left behind”? That was before the 9/11 attacks overturned his best-prepared plans.
Most presidencies go up and down based on their reactions to some unplanned and uninvited event. Just ask Trump about COVID-19. Biden can and should try to proactively steer his agenda, but he must also recognize that the world has a way of inserting his will. Trying to hide, cover up or minimize inconvenient crises cannot, and should not, work in a thriving democracy. Furthermore, this tendency towards subterfuge runs counter to Joe Biden’s image as an authentic direct talker.
Well, it may well be that Biden’s affable, though faux-prone image contributed to his team’s desire to contain his exposure. But Biden won, at least in part, because he was friendly, avuncular and almost impossible to demonize. Although it took a lot to undermine this almost indelible image, it would spell disaster. The best move is to be open, transparent and authentic. Yes, you will take some lumps along the way, but it is much better than looking reserved … looking like you to have something to hide. The sooner the Biden team understands that they cannot hide the ball and still win the game, the better for them.