“Let’s do this again tomorrow,” said President Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday at the end of her first White House press conference, and many Americans, regardless of political inclination, occupation, state or identity, said: Yes please .
Others were more than happy to tune in the news about the new government – which was a welcome change too. During the Trump years, many people felt his antics were impossible to ignore.
Despite all the talk about and appealed to Trump fans who wanted to watch the press force being bullied and beaten, most Americans don’t want to. They never did. Most Americans want to know what’s real and true so they can make the best decisions for their families. That’s what Psaki promises to offer – reliable, regular information – and that’s what the press will be pushing for.
Biden’s first day, and Psaki’s first day, sent word that Functional Government is back. Psaki confirmed that she will be conducting daily briefings. She told the reporters in the room that she would sometimes mess with them – of course we won’t agree, but that’s okay because ‘we have a common goal, which shares accurate information with the American people. “
During the press conference, CNN’s Jim Sciutto tweeted, “This is the thing: this is the norm. Answer questions. Answer questions. Do not attack journalists as enemies of the people. Fight sometimes. Always challenging. A functioning relationship between our government and the media. “
“Functioning” is a good thing, despite what MAGA media-speaking heads claim. “Functioning” is impartial. “To function” means a steady stream of informative press releases from the White House. “Functioning” means factual information about the president’s phone calls rather than boring claims about how he makes “many phone calls.” Many Republicans knew Trump’s anti-media attacks were damaging, and they cringed when his White House was consumed by its own narcissism. They knew the country deserved better.
“It’s just fascinating to see how a functional government does functional things that the government does,” Van Jones said after the briefing. “There was a press conference and there was a person, and that person said words, and the words made sense, and someone asked a question, and that person answered.”
Competence is the new incompetence
The presidential inaugural commission put on a flawless series of performances on Wednesday. From Garth Brooks to Amanda Gorman … from Tom Hanks to Sarah Fuller … the day was “as beautifully choreographed as a Balanchine ballet,” as the WaPo theater critic Peter Marks wrote. About the inaugural ceremony, he wrote, “it all came across as a perfect show.”
“This wasn’t just a power transfer, it was a profound change of attitude,” David Axelrod told CNN after the fireworks show.
Anderson Cooper summed up the day as follows: “They recognized the pain, but they also embraced the promise. They recognized the sorrow, but they also embraced America’s greatness. And the two can exist at the same time – the pain and the promise.”
“How do you and President Biden want to fight disinfo?”
During his inaugural address, Biden pledged to defend the truth and said the country should come together to “defeat the lies.” During Psaki’s briefing, Peter Alexander followed this up and asked for details. “The fight for the truth may be as tough as the fight against the coronavirus right now,” he said. “How do you and President Biden plan to combat disinformation that in many ways led to the attack we saw on the Capitol two weeks ago today?” Psaki said that “there are a number of ways” to do this, adding that one method is to provide “accurate information” and data to the public …
How accessible will Biden become?
It’s too early to know. Yahoo WH correspondent Hunter Walker noticed: “Biden staff seems very eager to avoid the free-running, loud Oval Office sprays that were part of Trump’s press strategy … Before disappearing after the election, Trump spoke to the press much more often in scrums and sprays than its predecessors. I suspect Biden’s team wants to return to a more traditional engagement, but I imagine it will be difficult to get that spirit back in the bottle …
Make the White House boring again?
“A rational, experienced president is going to be very, very boring,” former WH Chief of Staff Leon Panetta told John Dickerson. Dickerson wrote for The Atlantic, saying that “a president who tries to fit into this form may not hold the country, but he will be effective.” Three other main points from his column:
– “The great battle of our time is the battle between reality and fantasy.”
– “Even the most unusually dull president will not be able to use facts, briefings and patient statements to completely overcome the stimuli of politics and partisan media.” But “if a president ever wants to build bridges to the other party, it won’t be through insults and baseless claims to be taken in faith.”
– “Sometimes, by staying out of the way, a president can create space for our attention to go elsewhere.”
