After the New York Times ( NYT ) issued a statement claiming he was “actively and effectively” avoiding press inquiries, President Joe Biden attacked the publication.
Biden made reference to a statement the NYT had released on Thursday that claimed he had” set a dangerous law” by avoiding concerns from independent editors at the start of Biden’s statement at the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night.
The NYT’s speech read:
It should be troubling for anyone who comprehends the role of the free press in a democracy that President Biden has evaded independent journalists ‘ questions so intently and effectively during his term. The media plays a significant role in providing insights into the president’s thinking and worldview, allowing the public to evaluate his performance, and holding him accountable. This is because the president holds the most important office in our country.
Compared to almost all of his predecessors, Mr. Biden has held significantly fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews with separate journalists. The Times has, as it has done with all leaders dating back more than a century, requested an on-the-record meeting with Mr. Biden. The president has a right to object to our independent cover, and we will continue to cover him fully and fairly regardless of whether he chooses not to speak with The Times.
” The New York Times issued a declaration blasting me for, quotation,’ effective and essentially avoiding separate journalists,'” Biden said during his speech. Hey, if that’s what it takes for the New York Times to declare that I’m active and effective, I’m for it.
The NYT’s speech came in response to a Politico report that claimed the NYT and the White House were at odds with one another and that conflicts were rising between the two.
U. S. President Joe Biden toasts White House Correspondents ‘ Association President Kelly O’Donnell during the White House Correspondents ‘ Association ( WHCA ) dinner in Washington, DC, on Saturday, April 27, 2024. ( Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images )
Beginning in March 2023, a writer on work reportedly attributed a White House statement to the wrong people rather than claiming it was from” an management official.” Conflicts apparently started to escalate between the two.
Politico writes in the document:
The Times ‘ desire for a White House staff sit-down meeting with Biden is a key in the West Wing or the D.C. bureau. Publisher A. G. Sulzberger prioritizes having the president appear on the report with the report of report. So much so that last May, Sulzberger spent several minutes asking Vice President Kamala Harris why Biden was also refusing to give the paper a job, or any big paper, when she arrived at the paper’s downtown office for an off-the-record meeting with around 40 Times journalists. According to three witnesses in the room that evening, Harris suggested calling the White House press office and eventually complained to aides that the back-and-forth was a waste of time.
