Joe Biden held his first press conference since taking office today. It came after the longest drought in not only modern presidential history, but going all the way back to the 19th century. Needless to say, things didn’t go well, and RedState is covering plenty on that front.

Biden looked tired and out of it at times, unable to articulate his points and often rambling. In a highly unusual move, he also chose to use a briefing book, something presidents simply don’t do at these pressers because they are meant to be the president’s real thoughts, not some preconceived answer.

Media now rightly criticizing Biden for using a briefing book to answer questions. Never done before.

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) March 25, 2021

As I wrote earlier today, Biden’s overpreparation for what was supposed to be a routine event spoke volumes. Who was allowed into the event also showed how big of a coward the president is. Instead of answering any tough questions, he operated off a list of hand-selected reporters. Worse, he completely barred Fox News’ Peter Doocy, the correspondent for the largest cable news channel in the country, something I predicted would happen in a previous article.

Fox's @PDoocy shares his binder of questions and research that he was looking to have used when questioning President Biden today, but unsurprisingly, Biden's handlers kept Doocy off the list.

He says he would have asked about green jobs and the origins of COVID in China. pic.twitter.com/MJN2sohvWS

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 25, 2021

Imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth that would have occurred had Trump just outright banned CNN from a major presidential press conference. The excuse here is COVID, but that doesn’t add up at all. Limiting the room to only 30 reporters was not necessary, nor did it make sense to leave out a network as big as Fox News.

Of course, we all know why Biden did that. He can’t handle tough questions and Jen Psaki wanted to make sure he was protected. In fact, I’d be less than shocked to find out that Psaki gathered intel on what questions were going to be asked by her list of reporters prior. All that information in that briefing book came from somewhere.

None of this is acceptable or normal. If we had a real press, they’d be going nuts over the lack of transparency going on within the current administration. They’d also be going to bat for Doocy for not being allowed in. But politics overrides everything in Washington, including among the press corps.

Donald Trump relished these moments of interaction with a hostile press. He was never afraid to take a question in any setting. He certainly didn’t need a cheat sheet to answer basic inquiries. Biden is weak, though, both physically and mentally. To the extent that he’s the president, it’s largely in name only. Kamala Harris and Jill Biden seem much more involved in policy issues than the president himself, from foreign policy to the border, to the COVID relief act.

Biden is simply a shell of his former self, and his former self was nothing to write home about.