Jen Psaki says Biden should go on ‘The View’ rather than hold press conferences
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended President Biden’s irregular press conferences and infrequent interviews Monday, arguing that the commander in chief would be better served going on “The View” than engaging with political reporters.
“The benefit of the media environment right now — there’s a lot of challenges, but I’m going to start with the optimistic side — is that there are so many choices,” Psaki said during an appearance on the ABC News gabfest.
“When you’re communicating from the White House, I mean respect for freedom of speech and freedom of the press is important, but you’re also just really trying to communicate with the American people, right? So my view is he should come on ‘The View’ before he does a press conference,” she continued.
Biden, 81, has held the fewest formal interviews and press conferences of any modern president.
A tally kept by Martha Joynt Kumar, director of the White House Transition Project, shows Biden has given just 89 total interviews during his first three years in office and held just three solo White House press conferences — 33 when joint appearances with other world leaders are counted.
By comparison, former President Donald Trump had given 300 interviews and conducted 54 pressers at the three-year mark of his presidency.
“I think press conferences are important, but I also think him doing Howard Stern, that’s an interview that reached a broader audience of people,” Psaki said, referring to Biden’s lovefest last month with the former shock jock.
Psaki, now an MSNBC host, also praised Biden for appearing on the “Smartless” podcast, which is hosted by actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.
The president’s interview with “Smartless” — recorded March 28 while he was in Manhattan for a gala Radio City Music Hall fundraiser — wasn’t released until last week, a full month after it was recorded.
“If you’re in the White House, you’re not thinking about, am I checking the box on doing the most interviews? You’re thinking about, am I doing the most I can to communicate my message to the American people? That’s who I represent,” Psaki said.
“So, I would say more Howard Stern, come on ‘The View’, you know, more ‘Smartless’ conversations where you’re having conversations about policy, but they’re real ones that people have in their kitchens,” she added.
Psaki appeared on the show to promote her book “Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World,” out from Simon & Schuster Tuesday.
According to the publisher, the “refreshingly candid and clear” Psaki — will “share the surprising lessons she’s learned on her path to success and [offer] unique yet universal advice about how to be a more effective communicator in any situation.”
