Biden and "negative" media

Even the ultra-calm Joe Biden got hot under the collar when confronted by a persistent CNN reporter after the summit with Vladimir Putin. He accused her of being too negative with her questions and derided the fact that reporters always seemed to want to downgrade any achievements he had made at the Geneva summit with a man who is at the opposite end of the political spectrum. I can understand why Biden was a bit miffed when the American reporters failed to ask questions filled with admiration for what he and Putin had discussed together. But I'm afraid, Mr President, that's not the way it works. It is quite natural for good reporters to ask slightly edgy questions. It doesn't mean they are being negative. They just want decent answers that will make more interesting headlines than ones that just say the summit was constructive or covered all the issues or, worst of the lot, was broad-ranging. Biden objected when the CNN reporter asked him why he was confident that Putin could be trusted. It's a perfectly reasonable question but it put Biden on the spot. He had to find a reply which kept the positive mood from the summit alive while somehow addressing the question without insulting Putin. He couldn't find it, so instead he harangued the reporter for putting words into his mouth and asking negative questions. He could and should have answered without losing his top. That's what clever politicians do. Putin was pretty good at just avoiding the awkward questions and saying sensible and headliney things like he felt no hostility during the summit. What made it worse for Biden was that later when he had calmed down he actually apologised to the reporter. That may have made the reporter feel good but it was a touch weak I thought. Donad Trump of course hated the media and any questions he didn't like he started shouting at the reporter until he or she was prevented from asking the question and was told to sit down and shut up. Barack Obama was clever at avoiding awkward questions by answering with a long diatribe that never seemed to end and provided answers that he had already given several times over. Biden must get on with the media but, better still, he must find the clever answers to the nasty questions.