“Working is part of who you are,” Biden told Michele. “I’ve been saying for a long time that the idea that we think we can keep businesses open and moving and thriving without tackling this pandemic is just a non-starter.”
The informal on-camera conversation between the two is a break from past precedent, where previous presidents used the weekly address to deliver pre-written speeches.
On Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the reboot of the weekly speech, which has been dubbed “ A Weekly Conversation, ” is part of Biden’s effort to “ communicate directly with the American people on a regular basis, ” particularly those. affected by the pandemic.
“We expect it to take different forms,” said Psaki.
The video is a new take on an old tradition that has had a hiatus since former President Donald Trump stopped recording in 2018. Here’s how previous presidents used – and modernized – the medium during their tenure to communicate with Americans:
Franklin D. Roosevelt
President Franklin D. Roosevelt began conducting his famous “fireplace chats” by radio to explain what the government was doing to address the economic disaster caused by the Great Depression and later World War II.
According to the White House Historical Association, the FDR was able to bypass the press to make direct contact with Americans.
Ronald Reagan
The radio addresses were dropped by the FDR’s successors until President Ronald Reagan, a former actor and radio announcer, revived them during his presidency. (President Jimmy Carter did a dial-up radio show in 1977, answering calls from around the country, which landed him the Saturday Night Live spot.)
Reagan began conducting weekly radio broadcasts in 1982, a practice continued under most future presidents. (President George HW Bush made only 18 recordings during his tenure.)
George W. Bush
President George W. Bush was the first to deliver his weekly talks in English and Spanish.
As the Internet and listening to music on the go became ubiquitous in American culture in the 2000s, the Bush administration adapted to changing viewing habits and began posting the weekly addresses as downloadable podcasts, marking the first time the broadcasts were streamed online.
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama built on Bush’s technological advancements and became the first president to post videos of his weekly speeches during his transition to office.
The videos, which were posted almost every Friday and in which the president spoke directly into a camera, were made available for viewing on the White House’s YouTube page.
Donald Trump
President Donald Trump continued the weekly video addresses on YouTube when he took office, but the tradition was quietly ended within two years of his presidency.
Trump, who preferred to convey his thoughts directly to Americans on Twitter, continued to post short, rare video addresses on important topics on White House social media accounts for the remainder of his tenure.