Sean Spicer defends halt to White House briefings: ‘B-rate reporters’ turned them into ‘circus’
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday defended the lack of press briefings the Trump administration has conducted, saying that a bunch of “B-rate” reporters has turned the sessions into a “circus.”
“[White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders] doesn’t have to go out there and do a briefing if the president’s engaging with the press on an almost daily basis,” Spicer said on Fox News, claiming that President Trump engages with the media more than any president in the past.
{mosads}”I think the press briefing is to do so in lieu of that, so they’re making the right call on this.”
Spicer, who resigned as press secretary in July 2017, added that “the briefing turned into a circus, where you’ve created a bunch of YouTube stars that were B-rate reporters.” He also suggested that reporters felt compelled to act out during the briefings and that their conduct was a reason for having fewer briefings.
“This has never been about the content of the question, I don’t really care about that,” he said. “They’re supposed to ask tough, hard questions. It’s about the conduct.
“They want to make it into a circus, they want to make themselves stars, they want to make viral videos.”
The comments come as the White House faces scrutiny over the lack of press briefings it has has held.
The administration has yet to hold a full press briefing in 2019, with Dec. 18 being the last time Sanders answered questions from reporters in the briefing room. The 36 days since the last briefing marks the longest span without one in Trump’s presidency.
Trump said Tuesday that he directed Sanders to stop conducting briefings because of unfair treatment she receives from the media.
“The reason Sarah Sanders does not go to the ‘podium’ much anymore is that the press covers her so rudely & inaccurately, in particular certain members of the press,” he tweeted. “I told her not to bother, the word gets out anyway!”
His tweet followed comments White House spokesman Hogan Gidley made about Trump’s communications strategy on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom.”
“A lot of the times when we don’t come to the podium it’s because the president has addressed the American people himself,” he said.
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