The first public radio broadcast in America was in 1910. A few years before the birth of President Joe Biden, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt began hosting weekly ‘fireside’ radio chats with America in 1929.
Since taking office in January, President Biden has yet to attend a single press conference and it is a modern-day first. Since the invention of the radio, television, and now the internet, Presidents in modern times, before Biden lavished in the ability to communicate directly with the American people and regularly attend press briefings.
Former President Donald Trump not only held press briefings, but he relayed his every waking thought to the American people via Twitter, even perhaps when he probably should have just gone to bed for the night.
According to WhiteHouseHistory.Org, the White House press conference was born in 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson. Press conferences were held originally held off the record between the president and the media, but that changed during the presidency of Calvin Coolidge. Press conferences were usually regular events for presidents.
It was President John F. Kennedy who began hosting regularly scheduled public press conferences that were broadcast on television.
Since Jimmy Carter, presidents have held an average of about twenty in-person press conferences each year.
Both George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush held the most with the senior Bush holding 34.25 per year and his son hosting 26.25 press conferences per year.
Barack Obama held 20.5 per year and Trump, who loved the spotlight held 22 per year, but held countless in-person rallies and yes, of course, who can forget his use of social media.
Since taking office, Biden has held 0. His social media accounts are handled by staffers and the public face of the White House so far has been White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
