Who’s afraid of the human train wreck Hunter Biden? President Joe Biden appears to be. Or maybe he just can’t remember who his son is from time to time.
On Thursday, Biden signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 into law during a ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and several other Democratic politicians were on hand for the event.
As the president finished signing the legislation, a reporter asked him a question about a Russian billionaire who paid $3.5 million to Hunter Biden through the firm Rosemont Seneca Thornton in 2014, according to the Daily Caller.
“Why haven’t you sanctioned Russian oligarch Elena Baturina who did business with your son?” the reporter said.
Biden — who at first appeared to be confused — ignored the question, stood up from his desk and began talking to the suits hovering around him like flies.
A reporter in the room then shouted a follow-up question: “Why have you stopped taking questions from the press?”
And then another, “What are you afraid of?”
“Why haven’t you sanctioned Russian oligarch Elena Baturina who did business with your son?”
BIDEN: *confused stare*
Hunter Biden received $3.5 million her in 2014. pic.twitter.com/krMy7RC9eF
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 16, 2022
It was unclear whether the follow-ups came from the same reporter who asked the initial question about Baturina and his son.
Joe Biden must be afraid of something. Or maybe a lot of things.
According to the American Presidency Project, Biden has held eight solo news conferences during his time in office — six in 2021 and two in 2022 — and seven joint conferences.
His immediate predecessors, former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, held 27 and 21 news conferences, respectively, in their first year in office.
Biden held nine.
All told, both Obama and Trump held at least double the number of news conferences in a year than Biden has to date.
Even Chris Wallace — who left Fox News for the ill-fated CNN+ — called out then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki in April on why Biden had been “sheltered” by the press.
Psaki attempted to defend the president by saying he takes questions from the reporters at the White House “nearly every day.”
Wallace wasn’t having it.
“I’ll tell you exactly why that’s different,” he said, “because when you’re standing there you can take a question, you can answer it, you can sluff it off and you move on.
“It in no way compares, and oftentimes, he gives a partial answer and walks away. It in no way compares to sitting down with a reporter for 20-30 minutes and having a ‘you can’t move away,’ ‘you can’t duck it.’”
Chris Wallace is correct to push Psaki on why Biden isn’t taking more questions from the press. It’s been far less than his predecessors. pic.twitter.com/BJqrn1W4aK
— Geoff Pilkington (@geoffpilkington) April 21, 2022
Wallace was right on this one.
It’s easy to speculate why Biden might not want to answer questions from reporters.
His mind isn’t what it used to be. Though Biden has always been known for his gaffes, he does it so often now that it is anything but funny. When you’re president of the United States, gaffes can have real-world consequences.
Maybe he’s afraid that he is confused so often. That would be scary.
Or maybe he’s afraid to take questions that could expose a scandal involving himself or his family members.
Or maybe he’s afraid of cementing his legacy as the worst president in the history of the United States if he keeps opening his mouth.
One thing is for certain: It’s not only Biden who is afraid of reporters. So are his handlers. “I’m going to get in trouble” is one of the president’s go-to excuses for avoiding questions or changing their trajectory.
Another thing is certain: We all should be afraid too.
The economy is in tatters. The drums of war are beating across the globe. The Biden administration is leading the nation into a cultural catastrophe.
Sorry to say, Joe Biden is an embarrassment — and that’s dangerous for a man in his position.
