Press more concerned about being on Biden team than getting answers for Americans: Lawrence Jones
Fox News analyst Lawrence Jones reacts to reports of the White House seeking press questions before briefings.
Fox Nation host Lawrence Jones says he is not surprised by recent reports that President Joe Biden’s press team is screening reporters’ questions in advance of briefings, arguing the team has always been guarded in providing access to the president.
"Those of us that were on the campaign trail experienced this a lot," Jones told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday. "The Biden team never wanted to have to allow us to ask questions."
"They carried him out most of the time," he added. "He was in a basement and didn’t talk to the American people. This is business as usual."
A report by The Daily Beast, published Monday and citing three sources with knowledge of the matter, claims members of the president’s communications staff have asked reporters what questions they plan on asking Press Secretary Jen Psaki during briefings.
Jones questioned why those who came forward for the report chose to do so anonymously.
"The telling factor is that you have all these anonymous reporters running to The Daily Beast to tell them this information, but they didn’t cite their name," Jones said. "If this was the Trump administration, they would be in the White House briefing room letting the American public know."
Whether anyone will confront the administration publicly on these allegations remains to be seen, Jones said.
"The question is, will the White House Press Corps push back today during the daily briefing?" Jones said. "Who’s going to go on record and say, ‘We are sick and tired of having to funnel our questions to you before we get an answer?’"
Responding to the claims, a White House spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News the administration is "regularly engaging" with reporters in the briefing room in order to provide the most helpful information possible.
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"Our goal is to make the daily briefing as useful and informative as possible for both reporters and the public," said the statement, which was also provided to The Daily Beast. "Part of meeting that objective means regularly engaging with the reporters who will be in the briefing room to understand how the White House can be most helpful in getting them the information they need. That two-way conversation is an important part of keeping the American people updated about how government is serving them."
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Fox News’ Kristina Biddle contributed to this report.
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