President Donald Trump may be preparing to roll back the number of daily press briefings he holds.
On Saturday afternoon, Trump vented about what he said was unfair coverage of the briefings in a tweet. He wrote, “What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. “
“They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!” he added.
What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020
Trump’s tweet comes after days of criticism and reporting that said he had suggested people inject themselves with disinfectants to help fight the coronavirus.
During a press conference on Thursday, Trump spoke about disinfectants killing the virus on surfaces and asked, “Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
On Friday, Trump claimed that he was being sarcastic when he asked about looking into the potential for such injections, “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen.”
White House Secretary Kayleigh McEnany lashed out at the press and accused reporters of misrepresenting the president’s comments, “Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.”
Axios reported on Friday night that Trump is considering scaling back the number of press conferences. And that when he does hold a press conference, he plans on limiting the length of it.
“I told him it’s not helping him,” one source told the Axios. “Seniors are scared. And the spectacle of him fighting with the press isn’t what people want to see.”