Biden attacks 'MAGA Republicans' ahead of midterm elections
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy reports from the North Lawn on the differences between President Joe Biden's campaign messaging versus his own domestic policies on 'Special Report.'
With the midterms swiftly approaching, the White House has become far more outspoken about perceived successes, often touting recent legislative wins and the state of America under Democrats. But, you would be hard-pressed to hear the same from President Biden.
Biden has not done a TV interview with a mainstream American journalist in 208 days, instead opting for the rare appearance on late-night comedy shows.
Recently, the president taped an appearance with Jay Leno for a chat about cars, including the future of electric vehicles, for CNBC’s "Jay Leno’s Garage." Two months prior, Biden showed up for an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The June 18 sit-down was the president’s first network interview in 118 days.
Biden has not held an on-camera interview with an American correspondent since Feb. 10, when he spoke with NBC’s Lester Holt two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
BIDEN REPEATS SHIFTING CLAIM OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISM IN 1960S
Holt and Biden at the time discussed state coronavirus policies, tensions in Europe, inflation and the widely criticized withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In the past 200 days, the president has given only four other interviews outside of Kimmel. He spoke to Israel TV reporter Yonit Levi, the Associated Press’ Josh Boak, Substack author Heather Cox Richardson and progressive podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen.
Biden’s access to the media has been far smaller than his recent predecessors. He has conducted just 23 formal interviews since his inauguration.
Despite his wariness of the American press, Biden has ramped up his public appearances and speeches in key states with upcoming elections and Democrats feeling some new campaign momentum. Last week, the president delivered a major political speech in Philadelphia, where he claimed that democracy was under "assault" by MAGA Republicans. He has since repeatedly flip-flopped on his comments, and attempted to clarify his words to only include Trump-supporting politicians that embrace the former president's "extreme" ideology.
President Biden has also recently visited Maryland and Wisconsin, in which he made similar remarks about MAGA Republicans. His rhetoric is in line with a more emboldened Democratic Party that seems poised to put pressure on the GOP over red state abortion laws and voters’ ambivalence with former President Donald Trump.
The White House has often pushed back on criticism that Biden does not do enough interviews, pointing the press to off-the-cuff answers he frequently takes from reporters. Yet, these short exchanges rarely allow for the president to answer follow-up questions and often allow him to quickly skirt out when he gets a tricky question.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.