Would it be a good idea for the president to occasionally address the nation the way that Roosevelt did with his fireside chats?

Maybe. But like most meetings, he shouldn’t have this session just to have a session – there should be something important to say. Otherwise people will just tune out after five minutes.

The other disincentive is to this idea is that the opposing party, whichever it is, will rip the president apart no matter what he says. Why put yourself through that kind of bullshit?

Finally – Roosevelt’s fireside chats worked for two reasons:
– he had a message of reassurance at a time of economic hardship and then at a time of war.

- the citizenry were united against the Nazis and there was a sense of ‘we’re all in this together’.

In 2023, there is not a united view of anything, so these sorts of chats would not give the sort of positive message they are designed to be.

I don’t see any gain, and lots of pain, from this approach.

Under FDR, the country was insecure and needed reassurance.
These days, people want the country managed without being bothered or annoyed.

FDR did it on radio before there was television. Our modern day presidents do well enough when they decide it’s needed.

Trump was using social media…and got lambasted for it. Apparently many don’t want a POTUS to actually tell you what he is planning or doing. They only want to hear what they want to hear.

@seawulf575 FDR didn’t attack people on the radio. Trump has been insulting people and telling lies over social media for ten years now.

The last President to have “fireside chats” was Jimmy Carter, and they were not well received.

As much as I admire Carter, his energy chats and description of the “national malaise” did not bolster confidence

I’d love it, as I believe transparency and understanding is desperately needed today.

Yes, funny you ask, I was just thinking fireside chats. Specifically. The country needs a leader who can do this and not teleprompter robots.

Biden is a weak and frail old man who is not able to give a good fireside chat. If he tried then it would not likely go well.

@Blackwater_Park I doubt Biden could put two sentences together without a teleprompter. His creepy whispering tactic is just a feeble attempt to look like he’s not on a teleprompter.

@zenvelo And the media has been lying about him for the same 10 years. Coincidence? I think not.

@gondwanalon Fully aware, Biden is 180 degrees from what this country needs. Trump is 540 degrees from it.

@gondwanalon Biden uses those whispers to drive home what he says loudly.

¯\(ツ)/¯ They say if you want to really be heard to speak softly – people will shut up so they can hear what’s being said. Not leaning to one side or the other…just sayin’.