![]() ![]() Veteran New York Times White House reporter Peter Baker suggested Trump benefits from the on-camera frenzy. It is impossible to hear, have a substantive dialogue, ask a follow-up question or do any serious pressing of the president. “They are actually a perfect encapsulation of him: quick hit questions, quick hit answers, lots of give and take,” said one White House reporter. In interviews with POLITICO, several White House reporters acknowledged that they are pleased with the near-daily access to the president but echoed Jiang’s complaint that the chaotic format doesn’t allow for substantive questions or follow-ups. “The fact that the White House press corps can no longer grandstand on TV is of no concern to us.” “President Trump communicates directly with the American people more than any President in history,” she said, when asked by POLITICO about Trump’s preference for Marine One pressers. ![]() Grisham said last week that Trump is “so accessible” that she doesn’t “know what any of the press could complain about.” He’s even recently fueled conspiracy theories surrounding voter fraud and Jeffrey Epstein’s death. He told reporters earlier this month how he received a “very beautiful” letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though he declined to reveal the contents amid shouted questions. Trump has often used them to announce major developments, such as the departures of chief of staff John Kelly and Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta. Which is not to say the Marine One gaggles don’t make news. ![]() “Many times I’ve tried to ask a follow-up question, but he’s already pointed to somebody else.” “If he was at a podium, we would be pressing him after he answers the question, we would be correcting him, we would be pointing out discrepancies in previous answers, and we’re not able to do that in the chaotic setting of a departure,” said CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang. Reporters say the shift from a formal process - in which the president or his press secretary call on reporters one-by-one, without knowing what will be asked, and where follow-up questions are expected - diminishes their ability to hold him accountable. The traditional on-camera briefings, which were held regularly under press secretary Sean Spicer, became shorter and less frequent under Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and have been nonexistent under Stephanie Grisham, who took the reins in June. Trump’s freewheeling Q&As have essentially replaced the formal White House press briefing, which hasn’t been held in more than five months. He makes headline-ready pronouncements and airs grievances for anywhere from a few minutes to a half-hour - and then walks away when he’s had enough. He scans the pack of reporters, seizing on questions he wants, while ignoring others. They allow him to speak more often in front of the cameras than his predecessors, yet firmly on his own terms. The “Chopper Talk” sessions, as comedian Stephen Colbert has dubbed them, serve multiple goals for Trump, reporters and White House insiders say. But there’s a method to the seeming madness. Wednesday’s careening, impromptu 35-minute news conference may have looked bizarre to veteran observers of the White House, not to mention maddening to television pros accustomed to high-quality audio and video production values. As reporters shouted dozens of questions above the din of the helicopter’s churning engines, Trump picked the ones he wanted - on Greenland, Russia, the Fed and background checks for gun sales - and brushed past those he didn’t. ![]()
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