Biden held the longest presidential press conference in history on Wednesday, though it was at times filled with meandering and ambiguous answers
Mainstream media outlets are seizing on President Joe Biden's lengthy Wednesday press conference, accusing the commander-in-chief of failing to turn around the perception that his administration.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said he failed to offer a 'course correction' to a year plagued by soaring inflation, foreign policy crises and record low approval in the polls.
And the Washington Post, though friendlier to Biden, could not deny the aggressive stance he took against Republicans on the subject of voting rights and accusing them of holding up his agenda.
The Post's coverage of Biden's news conference opened acknowledging he 'escalated his partisan rhetoric' on Wednesday which 'intensified a harsher tone that Biden has taken this year toward Republicans.'
However the majority of its piece was devoted to covering the issues Biden discussed rather than reflecting on the conference as a whole.
Others are even claiming that Biden's marathon grilling from reporters created even more work for government staff who are desperately trying to explain or contextualize the president's remarks.
'I'm already seeing in my text exchanged with people around the president -- clean up on aisle State Department,' CNN host Dana Bash said immediately after the press conference.
One moment that caused particular confusion in the United States and abroad was when the president was asked about the worsening situation between Russia and Ukraine.
He said Russia would be 'held accountable' if it invades Ukraine, but added: 'And it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and what to not do, et cetera.'
But if they actually do what they're capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia.'
Allies and White House officials leapt to try and explain his remarks.
But 'it doesn't matter' what they say he meant, CNN's Bash said, 'because it is going to have to be cleaned up.'
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