The White House is “protecting” President Biden from questions to prevent his approval ratings from slowing, Fox News contributor Karl Rove said on Thursday.
“I think his ratings are likely to drop more because people are looking at the COVID relief bill and asking, what is all that pork in there?” Rove said on an “Outnumbered” panel.
“Maybe it’s because they haven’t heard from them … I think the White House’s opinion is that if they hear from the president, it may fall a little bit more.”
WHITE HOUSE Cuts VIRTUAL event feed AFTER BIDEN SAID HE’S HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ‘HOUSE DEMOCRATS
Biden has faced growing criticism for not giving a formal press conference in the six weeks since he took office.
Rove said the White House is “protecting” Biden from scrutiny of his coronavirus relief measure, comparing it to his campaign approach.
“They wisely made the decision to let the focus stay on Donald Trump, to hide Joe Biden in the Delaware basement. And it worked,” said Rove.
“I think they have seen since the end of the campaign that he is not doing well at the end of the day and he is not doing well on his feet,” he added. “And they may be protecting you, in the hope of preventing a further decline in their numbers.”
The White House raised eyebrows on Wednesday when it suddenly cut off the feed for a virtual event after Biden said he was “happy to answer questions” from Democratic lawmakers.
Accompanied by the Mayor, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and the Caucus Democratic Chamber, Biden spoke to lawmakers about COVID’s relief topics and the ongoing vaccine rollout. He ended his comments by asking Democrats to help “restore faith” in the government.
“I would be happy to answer questions if that is what I am supposed to do, Nance,” Biden told the speaker. “Whatever you want me to do.”
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The feed ended seconds later, after a brief pause.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn of Fox News contributed to this report.