I am aware that the role of the White House press secretary is to insulate the president and his associates from negative media coverage resulting from their performance of their responsibilities. Therefore, the more evil there is to conceal, the more apparent nonsense you will hear.

Most notably, Ron Ziegler, Richard Nixon’s press secretary, had a great deal to conceal. For example, here’s what Ziegler said when Nixon ceased treating Watergate as a “third-rate burglary” (Ziegler’s terms for the administration’s posture) and shocked reporters by finally acknowledging the gravity of the situation and insisting he was conducting an investigation:

“The president refers to the fact that there is new material; therefore, this is the operative statement. The others are inoperative,” he said, as The New York Times noted after Ziegler’s death in 2003.

Or when the press got word that U.S. troops were about to invade Laos as part of the Vietnam War: “The president is aware of what is going on in Southeast Asia. That is not to say anything is going on in Southeast Asia.”

Therefore, it is not surprising that Ziegler became an alcoholic and perished at age 63. He had a lot to conceal, especially since he was kept in the dark about what was really going on behind the scenes in relation to that “third-rate burglary.”

But I diverge, because the two women tasked with protecting Vice President Joe Biden have primarily dealt with one particular media ugliness: Biden’s excessive wish to avoid dealing with any type of media ugliness.

According to a calculation by Axios, in the first year of his presidency, Biden held only nine presidential news conferences, far fewer than any of his five predecessors. (George W. Bush, known for his verbal ineptitude, ranked second-lowest with 19, while the voluble Bill Clinton had an astounding 38. George H.W. Bush had 31, Donald Trump had 21, and Barack Obama had 27.)

Thus, the White House press secretary is frequently required to explain why reporters cannot obtain responses from Biden.

The most recent blather from press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre? Well, he may not hold press conferences, but he occasionally responds to shouted queries. He is the undisputed champion of responding shouted queries!

No, actually. The following occurred on Monday:

REPORTER: "Is the administration trying to protect the president from our questions?"

KJP: "Absolutely not."

REPORTER: "So why the lack of any interaction in a formal setting to have a press conference?"

KJP: "The president takes shouted questions." pic.twitter.com/WlqgNWL6ZE

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 10, 2023

“I represent a news organization that owns 113 television stations,” the unidentified reporter said. “And a question that I’m often asked — and I don’t know the answer to, so I’ll ask you that question: Is the administration trying to protect the president from our questions? Please answer that question if you could.”

“Absolutely not,” Jean-Pierre replied. “Absolutely not.”

“Then why the lack of any interaction in a formal setting to have a press conference?” the reporter shot back.

“I mean, the president takes shouted questions,” Jean-Pierre replied.

But what about a formal setting? “I understand. I have dealt with this question about three times already. I understand it is — it is — it is the job of you all to ask this question to me. Totally get that. And that’s not a problem at all,” she said

More on this story via The Western Journal:

“But certainly, the president many times has — has stan- — has stood in front of all of you, has taken questions on his own, because he wanted to see what was on — on your minds, he wanted to see what the questions you all were going to ask him, and he wanted to answer them directly. CONTINUE READING…