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President Biden has made himself even less available for media interviews so far this year after setting records with his rare media appearances last year.
From Jan. 1 through April 13, 2022, Biden has sat down for only one formal interview occurring two months ago, which was the traditional pre-Super Bowl presidential interview- this year with NBC's Lester Holt.
Biden had previously reached historic lows regarding the number of media interviews he gave in his first year in office, a paltry 22 sit-downs compared to Donald Trump's 92 and Barack Obama's 156, according to data from Towson University's White House Transition Project.
The only other non-media interview Biden appeared to make himself available for was a friendly sit-down with historian Heather Cox Richardson in late February.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next six months from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
The 46th president also held fewer press conferences, just ten in his first year versus Trump's 22 and Obama's 27. However, Biden did exceed his immediate predecessors when it came to "Informal Question and Answer Sessions," which he tallied 225, more than Trump and Obama combined, but it is not nearly as many as Bill Clinton's 255 in his first year.
In addition to Biden's one and only media interview in 2022 are the four formal press conferences he held, two being solo and two being joint with world leaders, according to data from the University of California Santa Barbara's The American Presidency Project.
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Outpacing Biden so far this year with interviews is Vice President Kamala Harris, who has given at least six interviews in 2022.
Harris granted three interviews with NBC News, one interview with CBS News, one with MSNBC as well as the local ABC affiliate in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' inquiries about why the president hasn't done more media interviews, whether he has any scheduled in the coming weeks and why the vice president has been more accessible for interviews than the commander in chief.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris listen as former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 5, 2022. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
The two-month blackout of any media interviews comes as President Biden faces growing crises both domestically and abroad while being dogged by plummeting poll numbers.
The last several weeks have been dominated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict with the Biden administration constantly being tested. Biden himself has suffered from a series of off-the-cuff statements about the invasion that the White House was forced to walk back.
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Back home, rising inflation and soaring gas prices have been crippling the wallets of Americans. The White House has repeatedly attempted to blame such financial woes on Russian President Vladimir Putin, promoting the "Putin Price Hike" messaging that is failing to resonate with voters.
Among other issues plaguing the Biden administration include the coronavirus pandemic, in which the latest variant continues to spread among the D.C. elites, as well as warnings of a surge of migrants at the southern border.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal Castle, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. (Reuters)
In addition to various policy challenges for the president is the escalating legal woes of his son, Hunter Biden, who is under criminal investigation by the DOJ for allegedly violating tax and foreign lobbying laws as well as money laundering. It is unclear whether the federal probe will find the president himself directly implicated in his son's shady financial ties overseas.
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Meanwhile, President Biden's latest polling is signaling doom for Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. RealClearPolitics average has him hovering just above 40% approval with a series of polls showing him underwater over his handling of the economy and inflation, the Russia-Ukraine crisis and immigration.
Enthusiasm among GOP voters is at unprecedented highs, providing a forecast of a potentially giant red wave in November as Republicans hope to retake both the House and the Senate.
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