Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) offered a very curious critique of Joe Biden’s presidency in a series of tweets on Monday.
Quoting from a Politico article headlined “The Biden White House media doctrine: Less can be more,” Cornyn wrote this:
“The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional. The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.”
Then he added his own editorial comment: “Invites the question: is he really in charge?”
So, the way to show that you are “really in charge” is to, among other things, stop sending “limited” tweets from your account that are “unimaginably conventional”?
Does that approach sound like anyone you know? Like, maybe the last President? You know, the one who lost his reelection bid, left office with a 34% approval rating and botched the handling of a pandemic because he tried to play politics with every aspect of it?
Here’s the thing: As a journalist, I wish Biden were doing more interviews and news conferences. (Note: The President waited far longer than his immediate predecessors to hold his first news conference in office; he finally did so in late March.)
But his not doing so is quite clearly the result of a strategic decision. Biden wants to be — in virtually every way — the anti-Donald Trump. That very much includes the way — and when and how often — he communicates with the American public. (Sidebar: Biden is also not the best at thinking on his feet amid press conferences and interviews, so his lack of a constant TV or social media presence is also likely aimed at protecting him from major flubs.)
You can absolutely criticize Biden for not being as available to the media or as transparent in his decision-making as reporters always hope politicians are.
But to suggest, as Cornyn did, that Biden’s lack of aggressive tweeting — as well as paucity of media interviews — is somehow a sign that he isn’t really “in charge” (whatever the heck that means) is way out of bounds.
It also suggests that Trump, who was (as even his allies would acknowledge) a whirling dervish of chaos and contradiction during his time in the White House, was somehow in command because, uh, he tweeted a lot of crazy stuff?
The Point: There’s plenty for Republicans to go after Biden on. That he doesn’t tweet and act like Trump in office ain’t one of them.
