New York Times: “A close look at more than two dozen radio and podcast interviews given by Mr. Biden over the past two years reveals a distinct pattern: In appearance after appearance, the president has been served up nearly identical questions, prescreened or suggested ahead of time by campaign staff members. And in nearly every case, the questions set the president up to deliver on-message talking points, without notable flubs.”
“The review sheds light on a tactic the Biden campaign has used liberally to control the president’s interactions in public, one that appears to have accelerated as the election has approached. Mr. Biden has given fewer interviews with news outlets than any modern president, and many of those have been with friendly interviewers, rather than journalists, who take questions and talking points from the campaign.”
“Mr. Biden is far from the only politician to dodge the scrutiny of traditional news media or to try to game interviews to avoid awkward moments. But his reliance on a protective bubble has taken on new importance in the wake of his fumbling debate performance last month, a disastrous live question-and-answer session that sent his party into a panic over whether he is up to the task of defeating former President Donald Trump.”
