Biden to defend 1st-year record in press conference Wednesday


President Biden will give a solo White House press conference, only the second of his presidency, Wednesday afternoon, the Independent reported.
The format of the press conference will allow reporters to ask probing follow-up questions and engage in substantive exchanges with the president.
Biden, whose approval rating stands at 40 percent, has been much more wary of in-depth engagement with media than his immediate predecessors. Political scientist Martha Kumar, who leads the White House Transition Project, calculated that Biden has given only nine press conferences so far, the New York Post reported. During the same time period, former President Donald Trump gave 22 and former President Barack Obama gave 27.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This conference comes as Biden approaches the end of his first year in office, a year defined largely by setbacks.
As CNN lays out, Biden will likely face questions on COVID-19 restrictions tightening despite his vaccine push, the highest inflation rate in 40 years, the "unprecedented" number of crossings at the southern border, the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, and tension with Russia. Additionally, he will face scrutiny for the number of legislative priorities that have failed to pass the evenly divided Senate.
The Build Back Better bill died last month after Biden was unable to come to an agreement with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Just hours after Biden's press conference, a vote to change Senate rules to force a vote on the president's voting rights agenda is also expected to fail.
According to Punchbowl News, "[t]he White House feels as if they've undersold [Biden's] accomplishments." It remains to be seen whether Biden can convince reporters of that Wednesday afternoon.
Political pundits like right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro exemplified the sentiment that reportedly has White House aides hoping the press conference serves as a "reset" moment.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Unraveling autism
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
'Two dolls': Can Trump sell Americans on austerity?
Feature Trump's tariffs may be threatening holiday shelves but they've handed Democrats a 'huge gift'
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violence
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed an opportunity
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'