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

Joe Biden giving a press conference
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up

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.

Explore More
Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.