CNN’s Phil Mattingly asked former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Friday why President Joe Biden doesn’t come “out” to boast about his record.
Biden held his second major campaign event in South Carolina recently but has remained relatively out of the public eye for the duration of his administration.
“Do you wish you — you know, you make the point of kind of who he is or how Democrats see him and why he’s been effective as a politician, particularly within the party over the course of five decades now. Do you wish he was not — I don’t mean out giving more campaign speeches more, I just mean out more, talking in interviews, talking on the ground, doing rope lines. We just haven’t seen as much of that.”
“Well, you know what, the president has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He’s the President of the United States. Very challenging job. There are only so many hours in the day. And I trust his judgment that when — now people are starting to pay attention. You know, again, you can be saying things — and people are busy living their lives, raising their families, doing their jobs. It’s a tough time. So you want to spend the time talking to them when they are ready to listen,” Pelosi said.
“But I’ve always said, you can tell them everything you’ve done, but nobody gets elected because they deserve it. They get elected because of what they’re going to do next. And what he is going to do next is, again, to continue the work he’s done for America’s working families, whether it’s the child tax credit, continuing to save Affordable Care Act, save the reduction in prescription drugs, continue to grow the economy, but, again, in a way that is — gives confidence to people that they and their families have a role to play. People are concerned about innovation and how it affects them; globalization, how it affects them; immigration, how it affects them. And we want them to know that in all of his policies, it’s about making sure that people have the opportunity, whether it’s through education or job creation and the rest, that has the beautiful diversity of America, but also — but also includes everyone.”
White House press sec. Karine Jean-Pierre was asked during the last press briefing of 2023 why Biden didn’t want to “defend his record” to the American people before he left for his winter vacation.
Jean-Pierre argued Biden always touts his record when traveling. (RELATED: ‘Clearly Rigged’: White House Reporters ‘Disgusted’ By Biden Using List Of Approved Outlets)
As of Oct. 17, Biden held 13 solo and 17 join process conferences, less than any other president at this point in their presidency, The Washington Post reported. The president also had, as of Oct. 17, participated in the fewest amount of interviews with the press since former President Ronald Reagan. Biden has also only had one sit-down interview with a print outlet and spoken to an investigative outlet, according to the report. Biden has done broadcast interviews with outlets like ABC News, PBS and CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
George Washington University media professor Frank Sesno told The Post it appears the White House is doing damage control.
“Controlling his access [to media] is advantageous,” Sesno told the outlet. “For a gaffe-prone president who sounds like he’s mangling or mumbling his words, less may be more.”