Joe Biden ditches internet for weekly ‘fireside chat’ like Franklin Roosevelt

Joe Biden is reviving the weekly presidential address, a tradition going back to Franklin Roosevelt, as he seeks to present himself as an open and approachable president.

The format is rather different, however, reflecting the change in technology.

In the first address posted on White House social media accounts over the weekend, Mr Biden is seen seated at his desk in the Oval Office. He rings a woman called Michelle from California, who wrote to him after she lost her job in the pandemic.

The carefully curated informality of the two-and-a-half-minute chat is a break from previous incarnations of the weekly address, in which presidents used pre-written speeches to put over the administration’s message.

Described as “a weekly conversation”, Mr Biden pressed the case for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

How Michelle was chosen was not disclosed by the White House, which said Mr Biden’s addresses will take a variety of forms.

Mr Biden’s approach to communicating with voters will be rather different than his predecessor, who used Twitter relentlessly as a platform to unload against his political opponents, before he was banned in the wake of the Jan 6 insurrection.

There are parallels between the original FDR fireside chats - when he addressed the nation during national crises such as the Great Depression - and today’s pandemic.

The broadcasts died away after FDR but were revived by Ronald Reagan.

George W Bush was the first to deliver the addresses in both English and Spanish, while Barack Obama was the first to post videos on the internet.

The tradition was continued initially by Donald Trump but then abandoned within two years of his taking office.

“Presidents are always looking for ways to speak to their supporters in an unmediated way,” said Chris Galdieri, associate professor at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire,

“Biden is decidedly not an online guy and he's at his best when he's interacting with someone.

“So this seems to split the difference between a purely broadcast radio monologue and reaching voters through social media.”

Stephen Greyser, professor of communication at Harvard Business School added: “The impact will depend on the audience you are seeking. Twitter will have an impact on some people, but not the whole nation.”

Jeff Lord, who worked in the Reagan White House, recalled how the former Hollywood star used the addresses to speak over the heads of the media to the American people.

“It was not for nothing that he was known as the Great Communicator. He put in a lot of work... Someone like Ronald Reagan made it look easy [but] it’s a learned skill.

“He began [when] he was in Davenport, Iowa and made the habit of going to the barbershop to talk with friends. His advice was that you should treat the microphone as if you were speaking to someone in the barbershop.

“Maybe Joe Biden thinks he can revive this. He is not the most interesting speaker at this stage of his life and I do wonder how many will tune in.

"I would give the advice straight from Ronald Reagan. You should treat your audience as if it is an audience of one. He should not think there are 300 million people hanging on every word.”

This week Mr Biden will pivot the administration away from the hardline immigration policies of his predecessor.

He is expected to issue new guidelines to agents working for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which are likely to slash the number of arrests and deportations.

The changes, which have still to be finalised, would stop immigrants being deported for “minor” offences such as assault or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

According to emails obtained by the Washington Post, the focus will instead be on immigrants who pose a national security threat and those who have been jailed for serious crimes.