White House press briefings now rare, making Trump chief spokesman

WASHINGTON — White House press briefings are becoming rarer and shorter, as President Donald Trump has assumed a de facto role as spokesman-in-chief.

The White House traditionally holds daily briefings on weekdays unless the president is traveling — in which case there is a gaggle, or off-camera briefing, on Air Force One — has a major address scheduled, or the White House has planned an event at which the president takes questions from reporters.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders conducted just five press briefings in August and has not held one since Aug. 22.

“The president has had a number of press events and a lot of travel over the last two weeks,” Sanders said in explaining the infrequent briefings. She added that “several staff have also gaggled during this time.”

Trump traveled to Montana and North Dakota on Friday, but was at the White House on Tuesday and Wednesday when no briefings were held. Monday was a holiday.

During the previous week, Trump traveled two days and spent three days in Washington, during which time there were no briefings. Likewise, there were no briefings on Aug. 23 when Trump stayed in Washington or Aug. 24, when he traveled to Columbus, Ohio.

During the briefing hiatus, the public voice for the White House has been Trump himself, channeled through his Twitter feed, his responses to reporters’ shouted questions and his extended remarks during rallies ahead of the November midterm.

Trump himself held a gaggle Friday with the traveling pool of reporters on Air Force One, telling them that he thought the Department of Justice should investigate the anonymous author of a critical op-ed piece in the New York Times.

Pool reports indicate no other Air Force One gaggles in August. White House officials have been known to chat with reporters after TV interviews on Pebble Beach — the term for the row of cameras near the West Wing — but jumping onto one of these so-called gaggles requires constant stakeout.

Reporters urge more briefings

At a Thursday night meeting of the White House Correspondents Association, president Olivier Knox told frustrated reporters the association has urged Trump’s communications team to hold more briefings of longer duration, and will continue to do so.

“The White House briefing shows that the most powerful political institution in American life is not above being questioned, being challenged, by an independent news media acting on behalf of the public,” Knox told the Review-Journal.

“It’s an important lever — not always well used — to help hold the presidency accountable.”

Asked about the lack of briefings, former Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer responded, “I don’t think there is a need to necessarily have an on camera briefing every day. I don’t think it’s the best use of time” for White House staff who have to prepare for the televised sessions or for the media.

“I think the fundamental thing as far as I’m concerned, are officials making themselves available to the media?” Spicer noted. “I think they are.”

GOP strategist Alice Stewart agreed with Spicer that the briefings don’t have be held “every single day. But you do need to have them,” in part to convey complex information.

“You’re not campaigning, you’re governing,” Stewart said. “If the president’s Twitter feed is his venue for relaying information to the public, and the press needs some clarification on those statements, then they deserve to receive clarification.”

Democratic strategist Maria Cardona had a different view. “Everything appears frankly to be falling apart,” she said, adding that “the fact that they have nothing to say” goes to the reason there are no briefings.

A briefing drought

It may be a sign of lowered expectations that members of the White House press corps are not reporting extensively on the briefing drought.

In early 2017, Spicer held a gaggle in lieu of a briefing for what he called an “expanded pool” that excluded CNN and the New York Times; it was a big story.

In February 2017, CNN tallied the usual length of briefings under recent press secretaries and found that President Barack Obama’s press secretary, Josh Earnest, gave the longest briefings — 69 minutes. Dana Perino, press secretary for President George W. Bush, gave the shortest briefings — 21 minutes. Spicer fell in between at 43 minutes.

Four of Sanders’ five August briefings lasted between 19 and 35 minutes. The other briefing lasted for 46 minutes because Sanders brought in national security officials to discuss election security, then she took questions for 14 minutes.

Under Obama, the White House press office held 10 briefings and seven gaggles in August 2010. Under Bush, the press office held four briefings and nine gaggles in August 2002, according to Martha Kumar of the White House Transition Project.

From Aug. 3 through 10, the president spent a working vacation at his home in Bedminster, New Jersey. There were no gaggles or briefings during that time.

But the Trump White House briefing schedule has stayed on a summerlike timetable even after Trump’s vacation.

One factor is the midterm election and Trump’s insistence on stumping in key battleground states to help Republicans maintain control of the House, the Senate, or both.

In other words, Trump’s frenetic campaign schedule could spell fewer White House briefings through Nov 6.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.