Psaki says Biden ‘does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories’ after a GOP senator criticized his tweets as ‘unimaginably conventional’

• White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended Biden’s communication style on Monday.
• Biden “does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories,” Psaki said.
• The comments came after a Republican senator criticized Biden’s social media usage.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday defended President Joe Biden’s communication style after a Republican senator criticized his limited social media usage.

“I can confirm that the president of the United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories,” Psaki told reporters during a news conference, in an apparent jab at former President Donald Trump’s Twitter habits before the social media platform permanently suspended his account after the Capitol riot on January 6.

Psaki’s comments were a response to GOP Sen. John Cornyn’s statement on Monday that Biden’s tweets are “unimaginably conventional.”

“The president is not doing cable news interviews,” Cornyn tweeted, quoting a Politico article. “Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional. The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.”

Cornyn also suggested that Biden’s messaging strategy undermines his leadership, tweeting, “Invites the question: is he really in charge?”

Psaki pushed back on the assertion on Monday, and said that Biden “spends his time working on behalf of the American people.”

Biden’s media interactions have largely consisted of participating in the occasional one-on-one interview, replying to reporters’ questions after public events, and sending tweets from his @POTUS account about his administration’s work. He held his first presidential news conference last month.

Biden’s approach significantly differs from that of Trump, who routinely made presidential announcements via late-night tweets and frequently appeared on cable TV channels, particularly Fox News. Trump would also use Twitter to attack his political rivals and drum up support from his base.

Toward the end of his presidency, Trump used social media to spread false claims and conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. Twitter and Facebook eventually banned Trump from their platforms in response to the former president’s role in the Capitol insurrection, when swaths of his supporters stormed the building.