President Joe Biden sat down for a joint interview with former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in New York City, but the interview was not with a national news organization. Instead, it was with the comedy podcast “Smartless,” hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. This decision to speak with the Hollywood trio over traditional media outlets reflects Biden’s media strategy as he approaches a high-stakes reelection with democracy at stake. Despite the perception of Biden avoiding the media spotlight, he has engaged in a fair share of interviews, particularly with the Black and Hispanic press.
Biden has participated in a number of interviews this year, including at least 10 with media outlets reaching the Black community and two with Hispanic radio outlets. The campaign has prioritized interviews with specific constituency groups, believing that focusing on local media outlets will pay off in the November election. While some may argue that Biden is avoiding the traditional press, the campaign argues that their strategy is inclusive of new media entities and platforms with broad reach to communicate directly with the voters who will decide the election.
However, Biden has shown more reluctance than his predecessors to grant one-on-one sit-down interviews with the national press, participating in fewer interviews at this point in his presidency. His decision to skip the traditional pre-Super Bowl interview for the second consecutive year raised questions about his willingness to speak to the largest assembled audience. Despite criticism from the press about his lack of one-on-one interviews with the national media, Biden’s hesitation likely stems from frustration with how the press has covered him and his campaign.
By bypassing the Beltway press and prioritizing other forms of media, Biden has been able to remain in contact with voters while avoiding uncomfortable topics such as his age. While this strategy allows Biden to focus more on substance and issues that matter to voters, critics argue that he will eventually need to sit for interviews on programs with broader reach to reach the largest audiences possible. Despite Biden not being a pioneer of bypassing the Beltway strategy, as the 2024 campaign intensifies, he may need to shift his approach to include more traditional media interviews to address tougher lines of questioning on crucial issues.
