Biden assembles list of executive orders to sign Inauguration Day
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President-elect Joe Biden rarely took questions from reporters during his campaign and it doesn’t appear that a projected victory over President Trump is going to change the Democrat’s elusiveness from tough questions.
Reporters typically lob softballs on the rare occasions that Biden makes himself available, such as an infamous mid-October moment when he was asked what flavor ice cream he ordered at the height of controversy over his family’s overseas business dealings.
DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall thinks it’s finally time for Biden to answer some tough questions.
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“Biden should, indeed, hold a formal press conference and take any and all the questions the media might have. His presidential campaign was on the stealthy side, but now that he appears headed towards the White House, it would behoove him to become transparent,” McCall told Fox News.
“This would rhetorically signal that he is ready to begin his administration and is ready to be the nation's leader. Reporters should have plenty of questions to ask. Such a wide-ranging press conference could also signal to the nation how the establishment media intends to treat a Biden presidency, and whether the press intends to challenge the new administration or give it soft treatment like during the campaign.”
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond when asked if the president-elect plans to hold a press conference.
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Reporters shouted questions to Biden on the eve of Election Day, but they weren’t exactly the type of hard-hitting questions that are barked to President Trump on a daily basis.
“Where are you watching the results?”
“Are you feeling confident?
Biden ignored shouted questions from reporters after announcing his coronavirus advisory board on Monday in Wilmington, Del., quickly exiting the stage after his prepared remarks.
The former vice president lashed out at CBS News reporter Bo Erickson last month for asking about the explosive New York Post report that alleged emails show his son made millions trading on his father's influence.
"I have no response,” Biden said. “It’s another smear campaign, right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask."
Biden also snapped at a reporter in August during a feisty interview when asked if he’d taken a cognitive test amid repeated attacks from Trump about his mental stamina.
"No, I haven't taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test?" Biden answered. "Come on, man. That's like saying you, before you got on this program, you take a test where you're taking cocaine or not. What do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?"
Biden has also snapped at Fox News’ Peter Doocy, once sarcastically calling him “classy.”
BIDEN SNAPS AT QUESTION ON COGNITIVE TEST, LIKENS IT TO ASKING REPORTER IF HE’S ‘A JUNKIE’
But with the exception of a few questions that resulted in a Biden outburst, the media’s treatment of the president-elect is reminiscent of the 2009 moment when then New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny asked President Obama what “enchanted” him the most during his first 100 days in office.
Zeleny now works for CNN, which spent four years attacking Trump at every turn. The liberal network has already been accused by media watchdogs of pivoting to a pro-Biden TV platform.
“CNN will be state-run TV,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck tweeted while watching coverage on Saturday. “You honestly think Jim Acosta, Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer, Abby Phillips, Brian Stelter, and Jake Tapper will hold Joe Biden and Kamala Harris accountable?”
Acosta, the network’s chief White House correspondent, emerged as a hero of the anti-Trump media with his combative exchanges with Trump and White House press secretaries, but it remains to be seen if he will treat Biden the same way.
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Biden would actually have to hold a press conference for anyone to find out.
Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson thinks the media has already set a terrible precedent.
“The mainstream liberal media is in no position to demand a press conference from Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, after an entire election season of showing no interest in probing those candidates' positions or background,” Jacobson told Fox News.
“The dye has been cast that the mainstream liberal media plays little role in holding them accountable for anything. Joe and Kamala control the media, not the other way around."
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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