Today News Africa’s Chief White House correspondent Simon Ateba attacked President Joe Biden in an op-ed on Thursday for holding a “rigged press briefing.”
Biden stated that he had been given a list of 10 people he was supposed to call during the president’s first press conference after his election.
Biden said, “And you’re each supposed to ask me one query, but I’m certain you’ll ask more,”
Ateba responded by blaming Biden’s lack of transparency.
Ateba stated that “many things at White House are rigged,” especially press briefings and press conferences. “Questions are often sent ahead by the same group of reporters, who are called on constantly.” The President or Press Secretary then reads the prepared answers from a binder, or a notebook containing talking points.
Ateba said that while it might “appear normal” from the outside, it is actually a show and a sham.
Ateba also wrote that the White House cares more about appearing transparent and encouraging free press than it is about being open and free. He also noted the lack of diversity within the briefing room.
“After watching CNN for a year when I arrived in America, I believed that the Americans were racists and bad guys. They were Republicans, old white men who had never been to college but live in the Midwest. As I struggled to access the White House and ask questions, I realized that the Republicans weren’t the racists I had been told they were.
