After skipping the traditional February joint address to Congress, President Joe Biden has waited a very long time to hold his first press conference.
Unless the news conference lasts for many hours, there won’t be nearly enough time for him to address even a fraction of the topics and controversies that have arisen over more than two months since he assumed office.
It remains to be seen if he will be on the receiving end of an angry and shouting press that debates and accuses him of crimes and lies, as happened routinely to President Trump.
If I were attending President Biden’s first news conference, I would want to hear his thoughts about accomplishments and challenges so far.
I would also want to ask some challenging questions. Here are some of them.
Do you think the law enforcement fatal shooting of the unarmed Ashli Babbitt at the Capitol riots was justified? Where does that investigation stand, and why don’t we know the name of the shooter, months later, which is unprecedented?
You signed an executive order requiring masks to be worn on all federal property. Yet you frequently remove your mask on federal property, and White House spokesman Jen Psaki gives White House press briefings without wearing a mask. Do certain political figures not have to follow the same rules you require of ordinary Americans?
During the campaign, you said mask-wearing is in large part an act of patriotism and to show you care about others. Did you stop caring? Or do you now believe that some people who don’t always wear masks actually still care, and may be patriots?
Many places in America that didn’t lock down tightly or even close schools last fall report no spikes or fewer Covid problems that some places that did lock down tightly. For example, we can look at the comparison between California and Florida. Is somebody trying to find out whether some recommended Covid measures actually be doing more harm than good, what we may be able to learn from the places that had better results, or whether there are differences in how some states and cities may need to manage coronavirus?
You repeatedly promised that people making less than $400,000 a year would not pay a penny more in taxes under your presidency. However, your spokesman has acknowledged that isn’t true. Would you like to officially correct the record and expand upon that?
At a CNN town hall, you falsely claimed there was no Covid vaccine before you came into office, even though you, yourself, were vaccinated under the Trump administration. What did you mean? Would you like to officially correct the record?
In your recent national address, you said that “we need everyone to get vaccinated.” However, that’s contrary to current CDC and other scientific recommendations. Two specific examples: the vaccines are not currently approved for anyone under age 16. Also, people who have allergies to vaccine ingredients should not get vaccinated. Do you want to correct the record on your statement?
CDC recently got caught giving false information to the public and medical professionals about the Covid vaccine. CDC claimed studies proved the vaccines are effective in people who already had coronavirus. That’s untrue. Yet even when Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) pointed this out, CDC scientists continued publicizing the false information. Has anybody been held accountable? Doesn’t this disinformation erode trust in what public health officials say?
What happened when you fell up the stairs the other day boarding Air Force One? Did a doctor examine you afterwards? What did he find? Do you regret criticizing President Trump’s physical condition after he shuffled down a ramp at West Point last year?
Would you submit to the same mental acuity test that President Trump took, and release the results?
Since you’ve been president, how many times and for what reasons have you been checked by a medical professional? What were the results?
In the past year have you had any medical treatments that have not been disclosed to the public?
Will you release your medical records in full?
In September 2019, you said that if you became president, ”I would in fact make sure that there is, that we immediately surge to the border — all those people are seeking asylum. They deserve to be heard. That’s who we are. We’re a nation that says, ‘If you want to flee and you’re fleeing oppression, you should come.’” Now that the very thing you said you would “make sure” happened– seems to be happening. Is it working out according to your plan? Do you regret saying that? Did you miscalculate, or are you surprised you didn’t anticipate or weren’t prepared for what’s happening on the border now?
On Wednesday, you announced some initiatives that are almost identical to Trump administration policies on illegal immigration, such as trying to convince countries south of the US border to enforce their borders, and trying to have asylum-seekers held in other countries, rather than in the US. Do you regret having immediately paused President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program that did just that?
When it comes to illegal immigrants and those who apply for asylum, what is the cost per immigrant and the total cost to US taxpayers, including Border Patrol staff to process, holding facilities and housing, school, food, medical care and transportation?
Americans who leave the US right now are not allowed back in without Covid testing, and “non-essential” travel between the US and Mexico has been limited. How does that square with the fact that some immigrants are being released into US communities with no testing and with no essential business?
As you know, the border wall project was abandoned overnight leaving large gaps in the border where drug cartels and human traffickers can move freely. Your self-imposed deadline to decide what to do about the border wall, such as whether to draw the project to a safer and more secure close, has passed. What did you decide?
Should illegal immigrants arriving in the current surge (or any other time) be allowed to vote in the next presidential election? Do you agree with House Bill #1 that would allow illegal immigrants to be automatically registered to vote in some states and protect them from prosecution if they vote illegally?
What’s the latest on the investigation into how sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein could have killed himself while in prison custody awaiting a Department of Justice trial? Who was held responsible?
It’s been more than a year and a half since Epstein died. Did prosecutors or investigators retrieve videotapes in the case, and what’s the latest on the investigation? What’s taking so long, especially when there are questions of who might have been preying on young women with Epstein and could still be “out there.”
The FISA court, the Inspector General and others found egregious violations and surveillance abuses by the FBI and Department of Justice, not only in the case of former Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page, but in all of the wiretaps subsequently sampled for audit. Yes almost nobody has been held accountable. The former FBI attorney who even doctored a document was charged only with a very minor charge and given probation, rather than charges getting to the heart of the national security and civil rights violations implications. Should there be a broader look back at the government’s surveillance practices and wiretaps by an independent body, and should officials who violated laws and constitutional rights of US citizens be prosecuted?
Some shocking Hunter Biden laptop photos are circulating. Are those genuine or fake? The FBI and Department of Justice have had the Hunter Biden laptop for well over a year; what are they looking at and what’s taking so long? Or have they ended their probe? Can you release information in the interest of transparency? Have you received any information regarding your son’s case? If so, how was it received and what did you learn?
Why did you skip the traditional February address to Congress?
There have been sensational reports claiming you couldn’t memorize the “nuclear codes” and that unprecedented provisions have had to be made. Can you dispel those reports as false?
Why did you wait so long to give a press conference? Will you begin taking reporters’ questions at news conferences more frequently? If not, why?
Are you concerned that there are widespread efforts to squelch free expression under the guise that it is harmful or objectionable? Some have said Trump’s critics are trying to controversialize or even criminalize being a Trump supporter or wanting to attend a rally. What is your position on free speech protections and where are today?
C-SPAN will carry President Biden’s news conference live on Thursday March 25 at at 1:15pm ET.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?510139-1/president-biden-holds-news-conference
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