Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is notorious, at the moment, for being unavailable for questions, but on Wednesday, the campaign Instagram account announced that Biden would be hosting an “AMA” — or an “Ask Me Anything” session — where followers could submit questions to the candidate for honest responses.
Nearly 48 hours later, Biden still has yet to answer a single question from his “AMA,” even though AMAs, popularized on the social media platform Reddit, are typically done in real-time and Instagram’s “stories” platform also only allows users to solicit questions for 24 hours before the request disappears.
Mediaite reports that Biden announced his “Ask Me Anything” late Tuesday, suggesting to followers that “I’m answering your questions. Ask me anything!”
It was a definite break from recent tradition for Biden, who has gone weeks without a meaningful press conference. Last week, he promised an extended question-and-answer session for media but took up more than a half-hour of time with opening remarks, leaving just 20 minutes for requests, per the Miami Herald. The questions asked during that limited period were far from revealing, with at least one member of the press asking simply why Biden chooses not to attack his opponent, President Donald Trump, outright.
The Atlantic, which last week published a story, using only anonymous sources, claiming Trump had called veterans buried in a World War I cemetery in France, “losers,” asked Biden about their own headline: “When you hear these remarks — ‘suckers,’ ‘losers,’ recoiling from amputees, what does it tell you about President Trump’s soul and the life he leads?”
“I wonder if you worry that this kind of language that comes from the president of the United States can deter some Americans who are tuning into him to not wear masks,” asked another, sidestepping any difficult questions for the Democratic candidate.
His Instagram request for questions seems to have led to a similar result.
“As of Thursday morning, Biden has not yet answered any questions, and the story has expired,” the New York Post said Thursday. “He has, however, posted nine pictures, videos, and other graphics to his profile since uploading the story telling his followers he would be answering questions.”
Instead, it seems Biden fell back on a previous question-and-answer session with rapper Cardi B. His team made a repeat post of that interview, “where the two discussed what her policy priorities were going into the 2020 election.”
“Currently, Biden’s Instagram story only contains one long video divided into two posts. In it, the former vice president slams President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Post added.
President Donald Trump’s campaign quickly seized on Biden’s failure to answer likely softball questions from a social platform, ragging him on Twitter.
“Lol Joe Biden’s staff posted ‘I’m answering your questions. Ask me anything!’ on his Instagram story 14 hours ago and they have yet to post any questions or answers,” one member of the Trump re-election campaign’s rapid-response team noted.