Biden to hold first formal press conference at White House

President Biden will hold his first press conference on Thursday afternoon, more than two months into his term, as his administration reels amid a pandemic, gun violence and the need to rebuild US relationships abroad.

With Thursday marking the 65th day of his presidency, Biden has waited longer than any other president since TV was invented to host a formal press briefing.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki, blamed the lack of press conferences thus far on the “historic crises” Biden has been dealing with, as well as on COVID-19 concerns, despite the fact that the president has been vaccinated and all journalists are tested for the virus before accessing White House grounds.

Reporters will likely grill Biden, 78, on key topics such as the influx of Central American migrants at the US-Mexico border, the COVID-19 pandemic and gun control in light of recent mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia and Boulder, Colorado.

The number of journalists allowed in the cavernous East Room in the White House is capped at 25. Most of the seats went to the 14 reporters who usually attend Psaki’s daily briefing. The selection of the other attendees was outsourced to the White House Correspondents’ Association.

The White House faced sceptical reporter inquiries for weeks about why Biden smashed a record stretching back more than 100 years for the length of time before a new president hosted a press conference.

President Biden has answered occasional reporter questions since taking office while hosting events at the White House or travelling, but his answers in informal settings generally are brief and do not subject to back-and-forth exchanges with journalists.

This afternoon, I’m holding my first formal press conference as president. Tune in. https://t.co/dvl1RAtOjr

— President Biden Archived (@POTUS46Archive) March 25, 2021