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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Is President Biden unusually late in scheduling his first formal press conference?

By Lisa Freedland
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YES

President Joe Biden did not hold a press conference in his first 50 days in office. According to UC Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project, his 15 most recent predecessors all held solo events within 33 days of taking office.

Woodrow Wilson held the first presidential press conference in 1913. In 1921 Warren G. Harding upped the pace to twice a week. Since then, all but two presidents (Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan) averaged at least one solo or joint press conference a month over the course of their terms.

In his first year in office, Donald Trump held only one solo press conference. Barack Obama held seven, George W. Bush held four and Bill Clinton held 11.

The Biden approach seems to some right for 2021. “Presidential press conferences are not on the top of the agenda” for Americans worried about COVID-19 and the economy, one professor suggested to the Associated Press.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
CNN Business: White House reporters clamor for press conference as Biden waits longer than predecessors
UC Santa Barbara: American Presidency Project—Presidential news conferences
White House Historical Association White House Historical Association: The White House and the press timeline
AP News: Biden White House—message discipline, no news conference
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.