This week, a clip has been circulating of Joe Biden driving away after a reporter questioned him about Israel. Here is an excerpt of the conversation:
“Mr President, can I ask you a quick question about Israel before you drive away because it’s so important?”
“No, you can’t. Not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it! I’m only teasing… Ok here we go – you ready?”
“Let’s see it sir!”
What is revealing about this interaction isn’t Biden threatening to run over a journalist (he is obviously joking) or even his ducking of the question. It is the behaviour of the journalists, who swoon and coo at the sight of a 78-year-old man speeding off in an electric pick-up. More peculiar still is the applause that follows, with one particularly awestruck reporter muttering “that’s fantastic”.
We hear a lot about how Joe Biden, with his big government spending, is the next FDR or LBJ; but moments like these bring to mind another former President, whose breezy, avuncular charm allowed him to escape press scrutiny in much the same way. During his eight year administration, Ronald Reagan was always known to have gotten away with a wink and a smile whenever he was in a tight corner, captured brilliantly by this old SNL sketch. In fact, so slick was the ‘Teflon president’ (because he was never stuck with the blame) with the press that there was even a book written about it.
Reagan was also famously careful with press conference appearances. Over his eight years as president, he only had 46 total press conferences in his two terms at an average of 5.75 a year (Barack Obama, by contrast, had 164 over the course of his administration). Similarly, Joe Biden did not hold a single in-person press conference in his first three months as president (admittedly, the pandemic has played a role).
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
Subscribe