White House press secretary dismisses critics, saying she's 'unorthodox' like Trump
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham is defending the fact that she doesn't hold regular press briefings, saying it's because President Trump is "unorthodox in everything he's done" and his "press secretary and everyone else in the administration is reflective of that."
On Saturday, 13 former White House press secretaries and foreign service and military officials wrote an op-ed for CNN on the importance of press briefings. The White House's last traditional press briefing was on March 11, Axios reports, when Sarah Huckabee Sanders was still press secretary. The op-ed writers said the "process of preparing for regular briefings makes the government run better," and "using the powerful podiums of the State Department, Pentagon, and White House is a powerful tool for keeping our allies informed and letting our enemies know we are united in our determination to defeat them both on the battlefield and in the world of public diplomacy."
In response, Grisham told Axios' Mike Allen that the op-ed was "groupthink at its finest." She said the press has "unprecedented access to President Trump, yet they continue to complain because they can't grandstand on TV. They're not looking for information, they're looking for a moment."
The op-ed writers, she continued, "know my boss has probably spoken directly to the press more often than all of theirs did combined. They know the press secretary briefs in the absence of the president, and this president is never absent — a fact that should be celebrated. Like so many trailblazers, history will look back in this presidency with praise. Until then, I'm comfortable with how I do my jobs, and my team and I are always available to the press."
More stories from theweek.com
Justin Trudeau says Iran plane crash victims would still be alive if not for heightened tensions
Seth Meyers sees too many parallels between the Trump and George W. Bush administrations
Bernie Sanders fires back on CNN report saying he told Elizabeth Warren a woman can't be president: 'Ludicrous'
