We watched all of it, all 111 minutes of President Biden’s press conference yesterday hoping for some nugget, any nugget on what many consider to be the gravest threat to our democracy. But, over the course of the longest press conference in the modern history of press conferences, no one asked about the elephant in the room.
There was not one question, or even mention, about the potential prosecution of Donald Trump. Why? On the one year anniversary of President Biden’s first day in office, a day that might not have happened except for the failure of an attempted coup, why not ask what’s going on across town at the Department of Justice?
Here’s an easy one: Sir, are you disappointed that the Department of Justice hasn’t prosecuted Donald Trump? Or, how about this one: Mr. President, do you still have faith in your attorney general? Do you think enough has been done to bring those to justice who tried to end our democracy? Do you consider Trump to be a threat to our republic? If so, what’s being done about that? C’mon folks! All the questions about his legislative priorities won’t make a bit of difference if we don’t have a country to legislate.
The evidence is pretty clear something was amiss one year ago. Beyond the riot and insurrection, who was involved in the plot? It’s pretty clear there was coordination coming from somewhere. What about the phony electors? Should they be prosecuted?
The possible questions on the insurrection are endless, but to ask nothing? That is unforgivable.
Here’s what was on the minds of the White House press corps:
Did you overpromise what you could accomplish? Should you scale down your priorities? Lots of questions on Covid and school closings—certainly valid. How about BBB, China tariffs, a report card on your administration, voting rights—all great. And then there was why was he was pulling the country to the left (Fox News) and concerns about Biden’s cognitive abilities (Newsmax lol!)
Make no mistake, the White House beat for any reporter is a plum assignment that can lead to riches from best-selling book deals, or big-money cable TV gigs. These folks have always been the best and the brightest, or so we thought.
But our country is in trouble. And we can’t ignore the threat. And we can’t slide into the easy old status quo from previous administrations. Wake up, friends! There is a clear and present danger out there. Trump fatigue is real. We get it. And look, we’re under no illusions that President Biden would answer questions of an ongoing investigation, but we don’t even know if there is such a thing.
If not for the House committee investigating the insurrection, what would we know about the events surrounding January 6, 2021? Not much!
The Biden administration needs to give us an idea for what can be done to make sure 1/6 never happens again. Are they? Maybe next time, ask a question or two.