Many White House staffers will mute their television or turn it off completely when President Joe Biden is speaking, administration officials said according to a Tuesday evening report.
The staffers say they are anxiety-filled when their boss makes public remarks, Politico reported, because they are worried he will take questions from the press or veer off message.
'I know people who habitually don't watch it live for that reason,' a current official said.
Biden has become known for being prone to gaffes – especially when he was on the campaign trail. During his Senate tenure, Biden also was long-winded with reporters because he wanted them to understand his perspective.
Now that he's in the White House, Biden still feels he's the best messenger while those within his own staff disagree, at times.
One of the biggest faux-pas since becoming president was when Biden told reporters on July 8 that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was 'highly unlikely' after the U.S. troop withdrawal. Just a month later, the Islamic militant group overtook the entire country in less than two weeks.
A new report reveals White House staffers will either mute or turn off their TVs during President Joe Biden's live remarks over 'anxiety' he'll take questions or veer off message
Biden's advisers, according to the Politico report, have pleaded with him to answer fewer reporters' questions at his events.
The president has complied on some occasions, immediately leaving the podium after remarks. However, he was slammed by media and Republicans for taking no questions after his first remarks on the Afghanistan withdrawal after the Taliban took over Kabul last month.
Other times, Biden will reveal his aides are trying to rein him in but still give into it, like after his FEMA remarks the other week saying: 'I'm not supposed to take questions, but go ahead.'
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a podcast interview in spring: 'A lot of times, we say, 'Don't take questions.' But he's going to do what he wants to do because he's the president of the United States.'
Biden, to the dismay of his staffers who carefully construct the White House messaging, is succeeding a president who would take almost any and every opportunity to speak with the press.
Press and the public soon became used to a very vocal presence from the White House in Former President Donald Trump.
Biden thinks he's his best messenger and will even reveal that his communications team doesn't want him talking to the press, saying things like: 'I'm not supposed to take questions, but go ahead'
It appears Biden wants to interact with media more, but is being pulled in by his communications team as he even struggles to avoid gaffes in his scripted remarks.
For example, he said the administration evacuated 90 per cent of Americans from Afghanistan when he was supposed to say 98 per cent.
The teleprompter also includes emphasis on certain words and only a few words at a time, potentially forcing him to slow down and really read what's on the screen.
Biden once enjoyed a steady and relatively high approval rating above the 50 per cent mark, but in the aftermath of the Afghanistan withdrawal, which led to the death of 13 U.S. service members and thousands of displaced Afghans, caused him to dip in favorability.
One poll showed only 3 in 10 Americans approved of the president's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
No comments:
Post a Comment