Joe Biden on his way to becoming the most evasive president in US history: Report

US President Joe Biden is on his way to becoming the most evasive president in the history of the country, a report by Sputnik news agency said which laid out data on how his predecessors were less shy of the press cameras and held more conferences.

With anticipations that Biden may announce his 2024 presidential bid to seek a second term in office soon, it has, by now, become clear that the US president is not quite fond of press like the other former US presidents.

In fact, he has reportedly held fewer press conferences than any president since Ronald Reagan left office. As per reports, he has held third-least number of conferences after Regan and Richard Nixon.

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Biden, who took on the top post on 20 January, 2021 took about two complete months to hold his first press conference. It was reportedly the longest time when a newly elected president has taken to hold the conference in 100 years.

Speaking of solo press conferences, Biden is lagging behind here as well. According to statistics by American Presidency Project at the University of California, the US president has given 11 solo press conferences during his first two years in office.

However, in 2023, Biden has held zero solo conferences. Additionally, he participated in ten joint conferences ever since he took at the helm of the presidency since 2021.

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Trump was also a close competitor when it comes to holding least number of solo conferences during his tenure as a president however COVID-19 pandemic made world leaders to hold more conferences as they spearheaded their nations and addressed the world in general.

Donald Trump held a total of nine press conferences during his first three years in office, a number which later increased substantially.

Biden's press conferences rarely figured reporters asking him questions as the US president mostly read pre-written remarks and delivered them in a set-up environment.

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Former US President Ronald Reagan gave 59 interviews with the press, that too in just first year of his being in office.

Biden, on the other side, gave 22 in his first year and 19 in 2022. However, as per reports, four of the 2022 interviews came from celebrities like Ryan Seacrest, Drew Barrymore, or Jay Leno and not from news reporters.

But what could be the reason behind someone avoiding press? While nothing certain can be said about the real reason of Biden trying to evade press, David E. Clementson, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, says, "The more a politician’s words inevitably diverge from voters’ feelings and experiences, the less presidential he will seem to them."

“Of course, if what the president is aiming for is not strategic expediency but simply fulfilling an obligation to be held accountable in his role,” Clementson wrote and added, “then the country wins when he holds a press conference – and in that way he does, too."

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