White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said Tuesday that President Biden will hold his first formal press conference on March 25, AFP news reports.

President Biden who was sworn in on January 20th is said to have broken a precedent by waiting so long to have a full, formal question and answer session with journalists that will hold more than 60 days into his term.

Media outlets in the US both on the left and right were also said to have increased pressure on the president over his delay in addressing journalists since he took office.

The Washington Post noted last weekend that Biden’s predecessor. Donald Trump had given five news conferences by the time he clocked 60 days in office, former president Obama had given two. Fox news was also said to have made the absence of a formal press conference into a constant headline.

While Mr. Biden does take small numbers of questions from reporters during daily events, Mr. Psaki gives a lengthy briefing to journalists every day, this is in contrast to press secretaries during Trump’s administration who often go long periods without briefing the journalists.

Critics have accused the Biden’s team of shielding him from a press conference due to the inability to predict the outcome of a press conference and as such have restricted him to tightly controlled events.

Mr. Biden’s spokesman said the president has not prioritised a press conference because his first two months in office have been engulfed by the challenges of getting his $1.9 trillion stimulus package through congress and perfecting the COVID-19 vaccinations to end the pandemic.

”That’s where his time, energy, his focus, has been,” Mr. Psaki said at one of her briefings.

Officials of the white house also said that unlike Mr. Trump who often spoke to the media and tweeted all hours, Mr. Biden has reverted to what they described as a ‘more traditional’ and ‘reliable’ model, where his press office runs the messaging.