The White House hid Joe Biden today just after lunch in an effort to keep the press from asking him any serious questions about the horrendous border surge he cause…or about anything else for that matter:
DC EXAMINER – The White House called a “lid” at 1:13 p.m. on Monday, signaling President Biden was not due to make any public appearances during the rest of the day despite growing questions about the emergency at the border, his administration’s commitment to transparency, and his work rate.
On Monday, White House officials called a lid — the arcane term used when the president has finished his public appearances for the day –— soon after Biden’s press secretary finished briefing reporters and much to the amazement of Trump-era staff.
The lid does not mean the president has finished his work for the day. The White House public schedule notes that Biden is due to hold a virtual meeting with the Senate Democratic Caucus in the evening.
The White House declined to answer questions about what the president would be doing with the rest of his afternoon.
However, the early lid is reminiscent of a tactic used on the campaign trail when Biden’s team was keen to keep a low profile and allow Trump to dominate coverage. In one stretch, he called lids at 9:22 a.m., 9.20 a.m., 1:02 p.m., and 8.34 a.m. during one September week.
It was part of a strategy to allow the former president to dig himself further into trouble over the worsening COVID-19 pandemic and his administration’s response.
This time it is Biden who faces trouble, under intense pressure to explain what is happening with a surge of migrants at the border. His press secretary has been asked again and again when journalists will be allowed to visit facilities housing unaccompanied migrant children who have sought asylum at the border with Mexico.
Trump’s former press secretary McEnany appeared on Fox News to take up the issue shortly after the White House lid.
“This is becoming such a drumbeat, and I’ve got to imagine the only reason that they’re keeping press out and allowing this kind of narrative to set in is, because the conditions are bad, and they know it would enrage their progressive base,” she said.
They are hiding Biden because the border has gotten so out of control that the media is finally taking a interest in it and they might ask him a tough question if they see him. Can’t risk that! No, this administration is hiding Biden just like they are banning reporters from getting access to the border facilities, so they can’t report what is really going on.
With this border crisis really starting to get more discussion in the media, you can imagine what most of the questions are going to be about in Biden’s first press conference on Thursday night. I expect the White House is going to control the hell out of who asks what, and reporters will just fall in line like sheep. There won’t be any Jim Acostas in the crowd harassing Biden for what’s going on like he and others did to Trump.