President Joe Biden has gone longer without a formal press conference since first taking office than any president in the past 100 years raising questions of accountability. Retired Ripon College political scientist Marty Farrell says he thinks Biden is making a mistake on at least a couple of fronts. Farrell says Biden faces criticism from an image standpoint that he’s afraid to face tough questions, and also sacrificing an important part of that bully-pulpit ability to lead public opinion. Farrell acknowledges it takes time to prepare for a press conference. Most presidents have held formal press conferences in a matter of days or few weeks after taking office. The previous record was 33 days by former president George W. Bush.
