When will President Joe Biden hold his first press conference?
Since he was sworn in as US President on 20 January, Joe Biden has yet to take direct answers from the press. His first encounter with the media has been arranged.
Since being sworn in as US President on 20 January, Joe Biden has yet to take direct answers from the press. His first televised encounter with the media has now been arranged, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed this week. "[It will be] soon. Maybe I’ll have an update for you by the end of the day. We’ll see. By the end of the month. I will see if we have landed a full date yet,” she explained to journalists on board Air Force One as she joined Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris on a trip to Chester, Pennsylvania.
Biden to meet the press on 25 March
Biden will give his first solo, televised press conference on the afternoon of Thursday 25 March – 64 days after taking office. It is certainly unusual for a newly-instated US president to wait so long before taking questions from the media. Former President Donald Trump gave his first press conference on 16 February 2017 - 27 days after being sworn in; Barack Obama’s first presidential presser, the first of the 65 solo engagements with reporters, was just 20 days after he entered the Oval office and Jimmy Carter faced the press two and a half weeks after becoming President, promising that he would hold two press conferences every month.
Up to now, Biden’s dealings with the media have exclusively been through Jen Psaki. She has held numerous press briefings since 20 January but over the past week or so has been under pressure to disclose when President Biden will be taking and answering questions himself. “The president takes questions several times a week. Which is an opportunity for the people covering the White House to ask him about whatever news is happening on any given day," she told reporters in last week’s press briefing, explaining that President Biden has been fully occupied with his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and setting up a new website, VaccineFinder.gov, as part of a massive nationwide Covi-19 vaccination programme. Biden hopes to ensure that 100 million shots of Covid-19 vaccine will have been administered during his first 100 days in office.