How long can Joe Biden go without taking questions from the press?
2020 Democrat hopeful Joe Biden once again avoids answering questions as he unveils more details of his economic plan; media reporter for The Hill Joe Concha reacts.
The Hill's media reporter Joe Concha blasted former Vice President Joe Biden for not taking questions from reporters during a speech on Tuesday while pointing out that “President Trump has been regularly accessible during this time.”
“It appears that safe spaces used to be just for college students, now they’re en vogue for presidential candidates as well,” Concha told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday.
Biden refused to take questions from reporters during a speech Tuesday afternoon in New Castle, Del., as he unveiled a plan that would cost $775 billion over 10 years, according to his campaign. It added that the plan would be paid for by rolling back tax breaks for real estate investors with incomes over $400,000 and taking steps to increase tax compliance for high-income earners.
Shining a spotlight on care for some of the youngest and oldest Americans, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is proposing to provide universal pre-school for 3- and 4-year-old children, build new child care facilities and expand access to a wider array of long-term care options for seniors.
The campaign said that the plan would put 3 million Americans to work in new care and education jobs. They predict that if enacted, it would increase overall employment by about 5 million after taking into account the economic impacts of increased labor force participation after unpaid caregivers are freed up to pursue paid careers.
Biden’s proposal is the third part of a larger so-called “Build Back Better” economic recovery plan that Biden has rolled out over the past few weeks. The program is aimed at stimulating an economy flattened by coronavirus pandemic and restoring the jobs lost since the outbreak swept the nation, while creating more.
“I look forward to having your questions at another time, but I’m off to another event,” Biden said at the end of his speech on Tuesday.
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Host Steve Doocy asked on Wednesday, “Isn't it appropriate that if you are about 100 days away from an election, the candidate for a major party should be answering questions from the press?”
“Yeah, if you want to be leader of the free world, probably wait to go to that next event for at least five or 10 minutes and take some questions,” Concha said in response.
“Joe Biden did not do that as you said, only one press conference in 100 days, meanwhile President Trump has been regularly accessible during this time, obviously brought back the coronavirus task force briefings yesterday and took questions from multiple outlets for an extended period of time.”
Concha went on to note that “the one press conference that Joe Biden has done in this time, took questions from exactly six reporters including one that said, ‘What keeps you up at night as you look ahead?’ and ‘Can you maintain this advantage without campaigning in a traditional way?’”
“So media members that cry about President Trump and his treatment of the press don't seem to have any problem with Joe Biden not speaking to it,” he continued.
Doocy noted that Biden “is ahead in the polls” and that the strategy of not taking reporter questions is apparently “working for him.”
According to the latest Fox News survey, the virus is the top issue to voters, over half of them disapprove of how President Trump’s handling it, and they increasingly trust Biden to do a better job on it, which keeps the former vice president ahead in the presidential race. Biden leads by 8 points over Trump, 49-41 percent in the latest Fox News poll.
Doocy asked Concha since Biden is ahead in the polls, “why bother taking the chance of a question that he doesn't know the answer to or makes him look bad?”
“Hillary Clinton thought it was working for her too when she didn't do a press conference for 270 days during the 2016 election,” Concha said in response. “The bottom line is that you have to face scrutiny.”
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He added, “Joe Biden at some point has to define what his campaign is about and not play not to lose because it didn't work the last time for the last Democratic nominee.”
Fox News’ Dana Blanton, Paul Steinhauser and Madeleine Rivera contributed to this report.
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