President Joe Biden will reportedly sit in on an interview with late-night talk show host Seth Meyers on Monday, continuing a series of celebrity appearances while avoiding sit-downs with reporters.
The White House has not confirmed the interview, but various media outlets have reported that Biden visited NBC studios during his visit to New York for a campaign reception. The interview with Meyers is consistent with the president’s recent interview habits, in which he prefers meeting celebrities face-to-face in friendly settings rather than speaking one-on-one with journalists from print or television news organizations.
For example, he had a podcast conversation with former late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien in December, spoke with NBC’s Al Roker during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and spoke with ABC’s Ryan Seacrest on New Year’s Eve. We had a conversation.
The president has avoided Super Bowl interviews for the second year in a row and has been criticized for his overall lack of access to the press.
The day before the O’Brien interview, CBS correspondent Ed O’Keefe asked whether Biden would agree to a traditional year-end news conference with White House reporters.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “I have nothing further to add regarding the year-end press conference.” Mr. Biden did not hold a press conference.
Biden has held 33 press conferences as president, the fewest since President Ronald Reagan, compared to 422 for Barack Obama and 300 for Donald Trump at this point in his presidency. In contrast, only 86 interviews were conducted. Associated Press.
Although Biden has appeared relatively frequently on programs likely to be watched by Democratic-leaning viewers, his lack of interviews, especially tough ones with reporters, suggests that he is no longer on the job. That could fuel voters’ fears that they can’t stand it or are facing amnesia. This is extremely important for his re-election.
Asked Monday about Myers’ interview, Jean-Pierre was tight-lipped, saying, “I don’t have anything on that. If I have more to share, I definitely will.”
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Asked whether the lack of confirmation was to avoid anti-Israel protests, he gave a similar answer.
“I don’t have anything else to share about that,” she said.
