We’ve come a long way from “tweet storms.” Welcome to more civilized times, at least so far.
President Biden, in a move reminiscent of former President Roosevelt with his fireside chats or President Reagan with his weekly radio addresses, is launching a weekly “conversation with the nation” tomorrow.
The first episode is with a California woman who lost her business due to the pandemic.
This media outreach program by the White House will take a “variety of forms,” according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
The White House wants the Biden chats to compare to FDR’s radio addresses which were used to lift the spirits of millions of American families during the Great Depression and World War II. But the 1930’s and ‘40’s saw a nation much more united than today. The times are very different but this president believes his words can make a difference.
The Washington Post writes:
At their best, these moments of connection have briefly erased the barriers between the president and the people, establishing intimacy and demonstrating empathy. Of course, the past four years have been a stark departure from that norm. President Trump is an acknowledged master of social media, the dominant technology of our time, but he has used it to sow discord and distrust, rather than unity.
