Much was missing from Trump's press conference, such as answers
It was a rare event. On Wednesday, President Trump held his first full press conference on American soil since the first weeks of his administration last year.
Like his earlier foray into the jaws of the media, the event consisted of Trump speaking about a wide array of topics for nearly an hour and a half. It was a throwback to Trump’s days on the campaign trail where he regularly made marathon appearances in front of the media and in his signature rallies. But his responses left much unanswered.
Trump’s appearance took place in a plush ballroom at Manhattan’s Palace Hotel, not far from the United Nations where he addressed the General Assembly on Tuesday. But foreign policy and his meetings with world leaders weren’t the top items on the agenda.
The press conference came amid cascading allegations of sexual assault against Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, and two days after a slew of conflicting reports about the status of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Justice Department’s Russia probe. By various accounts Rosenstein was on the verge of either resigning or being fired, but as of Wednesday evening he was still in his job. Both of these major developments seemed poised to come to a head on Thursday with Kavanaugh and one of his accusers scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill and Rosenstein heading to the White House for a meeting with Trump.
In the very first question of the presser, Trump was asked for his assessment of the accusations against Kavanaugh. He dismissed them as a “big fat con job” and reiterated his support for the nominee. Trump was then asked a question he’d dodged at the United Nations earlier in the day, does he believe the three women who have come forward and publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct are all lying?
“I won’t get into that game,” Trump replied. “I’m going to see what happens tomorrow.”
Throughout the press conference reporters tried multiple variations on the theme, but Trump’s responses didn’t become any more illuminating. The president delivered long answers that obfuscated the fact that although he professed an open mind, he was prejudging the allegations by framing them as a “con” by Democrats. Trump acknowledged the litany of sexual assault allegations that had been made against him during the campaign, and suggested the experience showed him some alleged victims launch false charges, but he repeatedly stopped short of definitively explaining his position on L’Affaire Kavanaugh. Ultimately, Trump settled on a noncommittal intention to watch the testimony on Thursday and reserve the right to withdraw his support for Kavanaugh, “if I [think] he’s guilty.”
On Rosenstein, Trump was similarly evasive. The rumors the deputy attorney general was set to leave his job were sparked by a New York Times story that said Rosenstein discussed secretly taping the president and using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. Even before this story, Rosenstein and the special counsel investigation into Moscow’s intervention in the 2016 presidential race had drawn Trump’s ire. The president, who has vehemently denied his campaign cooperated with the Russians has repeatedly referred to the probe as a “witch hunt.” Trump repeated that characterization at the press conference, but he paradoxically indicated he would “certainly prefer” to keep Rosenstein on the job. In the end, Trump offered no clear answer on Rosenstein and, in fact, said he might even postpone the meeting that was expected to settle his fate until after the Kavanaugh drama.
“I may call Rod tonight or tomorrow and ask for a little bit of delay to the meeting because I don’t want to do anything that gets in the way … of this very important Supreme Court pick,” said Trump, adding, “I want to hear what she has to say. I may delay that;, I’m going to see.”
In addition to the recent headlines on the home front, Trump’s time at the United Nations General Assembly did make major news. On Wednesday morning before the press conference, Trump accused China of having interfered in U.S. elections and expressed support for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Both of these topics came up at the press conference and, like the other major subjects he was asked about, they were met with inconclusive answers from the president. On Israel, Trump offered no specifics and, if anything, was less definitive than in his prior comments.
“The bottom line, if the Israelis and the Palestinians want one state, that’s okay with me. If they want two states, that’s okay with me,” Trump said.
After Trump made his blockbuster claim about Chinese election interference at the U.N. Security Council meeting, the White House hastily organized a telephone briefing to explain the charge. The presentation largely focused on Chinese advertisements in an Iowa newspaper that criticized the Trump administration’s tariffs on that country. Those advertisements appeared to be legal efforts to sway public opinion, so many observers were underwhelmed by the White House case.
At his press conference, Trump was asked if he had more substantial evidence to back up his accusation against China. He demurred and hinted further revelations could come out in the future. Trump was also asked to “compare the level of interference” he believes China is engaged in to what went on with the Russians in the 2016 presidential election.
“Well I think it’s different,” Trump replied, without elaborating. He then launched into a long riff on one of his favorite topics, the trade imbalance between China and the U.S. Reporters didn’t follow up to ask whether he was acknowledging that Russia had indeed interfered with the election, something he has never conceded despite the unanimous assessment of the U.S. intelligence community
Along with the dodgy and inconclusive statements on major areas of interest, Trump mostly served up reheated commentary on his favorite topics, including the old standards about his dissatisfaction with the Iran deal, his belief that much of the media is “fake news,” including the “failing New York Times,” and his assessments that he has a “very large brain” and has had an extremely successful tenure.
With daily briefings becoming increasingly infrequent, the White House press corps has been clamoring for a full presidential press conference. Since February 2017, Trump has only held these in Finland and Singapore. Instead, he has largely engaged with the press through joint conferences with foreign leaders where he only allows four questions from selected members of the media, and moments he chooses to hold forth with pool reporters and the members of the press who shout questions his way when he departs for helicopter trips.
Trump referenced the media’s dissatisfaction with that state of affairs during his press conference. He said a reporter complained to him about his lack of pressers and argued he does them regularly since he often takes questions from the smaller pool of reporters that covers him at events. But those venues are far different as they involve a smaller number of reporters, and he has much greater ability to ignore questions. Still, the frequency and manner of Trump’s engagement with reporters won’t matter if his answers are as vague and unsatisfying as they were at Wednesday’s press conference.
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Read more from Yahoo News:
Clinton aide: We didn’t recognize ‘full scope’ of Russian interference on social media
Fiona Hill, Trump’s top expert on Russia, is quietly shaping a tougher U.S. policy
A Rosenstein departure could raise new conflict-of-interest issues for Justice Dept.
Photos: Anti-Kavanaugh protesters gather on Capitol Hill after 2nd allegation of sexual misconduct
