Should Trump shut down the White House Press Room

[I Won - Get Over It]

As Bannon says: Media, The Opposition Party. They ARE the opposition party and should be treated as one.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

No. He should start pulling press credentials and tell the networks and certain outlets that they should instead send more responsible journalists. That is how I'd handle it. Have the Secret Service come in and escort them out on the live broadcast, then ask with a smirk: any questions?

The media needs to start acting like the media and not the opposition. That is the congressional Democrats job, and they're doing fine on their own.

[ProudModerate2]

I would support this for very different reasons. Very, very different ones.

What reasons?
Seems pretty indefensible to me. It's the straightest path to full dictatorship.

Because the last time Trump opened his mouth and attempted to direct his own media strategy and was in unchallenged control of his own Twitter we got a special counsel.

I am entirely all for the president to let loose on his own without anyone restraining him. The idea of him ranting and making legally culpable statements once a week at Mar-a-Lago is definitely good by me.

Completely agree.
I said this a few weeks ago in another thread. If trump did his own press conferences attempting (and forced) to answer detailed questions from the White House press corps, it would be absolute comedy hour.
The stupidity and incompetence coming out of his mouth would be priceless. I would get popcorn ready on every (weekly) show.
I assure you that at least 50% of what would come out of him (the absurdity), would be used against him by the media and by those investigating him and his administration.
No doubt, what-so-ever about this !

[ApatheticAustrian]

well, i am sure, SOME journalists who are more...respectful...would follow this plea from a senior official on the air force one:


https://twitter.com/PhilipinDC/status/868877582372089857

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

well, i am sure, SOME journalists who are more...respectful...would follow this plea from a senior official on the air force one:


https://twitter.com/PhilipinDC/status/868877582372089857

That is standard spin. Spicer and the Coms team wouldn't be doing his job if they didn't ask, and the media wouldn't be doing their job if they listened.

[EnglishPete]

As Bannon says: Media, The Opposition Party. They ARE the opposition party and should be treated as one.

[Inmate Trump]

As Bannon says: Media, The Opposition Party. They ARE the opposition party and should be treated as one.

This right here exactly why this idea of stopping press conferences is a scary idea.  Because it will NOT end at press conferences and you're a fool if you think otherwise.  Media and the press is heir opposition and they will not stop until they've silenced them all.


EDIT: Also, I would like you to reply to what I said about how you will no longer be able to criticize a Democratic politician if one ever says/does any of the stuff Trump and his cronies have said and done.  Can you agree with me that it would look very hypocritical for you and your buddies to now diss anyone else's sexual exploits, lies, racist and offensive rhetoric, criminal records, and any shred (even to the tiniest degree) of influence from a foreign power? You guys are really running out of things with which to attack your opponents.

[EnglishPete]

Donald Trump criticising the traditional news media an indicating he'll continue using social media

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  21h21 hours ago
More
 It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media.

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  20h20 hours ago
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 Whenever you see the words 'sources say' in the fake news media, and they don't mention names....

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  20h20 hours ago
More
Replying to @realDonaldTrump
....it is very possible that those sources don't exist but are made up by fake news writers. #FakeNews is the enemy!

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  9h9 hours ago
More
 The Fake News Media works hard at disparaging & demeaning my use of social media because they don't want America to hear the real story!

[Inmate Trump]

^ so I guess that means you won't respond to my statement of how you will be unable to criticize any future politicians?

[EnglishPete]

Why do you want press-free news conferences?

It's vital to have a free press questioning and analyzing our leaders.  And surely you must know that any precedent you guys set now, you MUST honor with any future administration.  So if there's ever a time when the press is critical of a Democratic president then you can't criticize if said president tries to shut them down. Which they likely wouldn't because most Democrats are not also authoritarians, but the point is that all these crazy and previously untought of actions that Trump and the GOP are doing set a precedent for all future administrations. YOU CANNOT CRITICIZE A DEMOCRAT FOR BEING A WOMANIZER, LIAR, CHEAT, ETC.  You can't criticize any politician for sexual assault in their personal lives, or for potential treason or espionage if it ever comes out that they've worked with a foreign power to rig an election.

Everything Trump is now doing you will have to warmly accept from a Democratic contender should one resemble him in any way. And that includes suppression of a free press.

And suppression is exactly what this is. He is trying to make his message be heard unopposed. Today it's the press briefings, tomorrow it'll be the nightly news. This cannot be acceptable to anyone who believes in anything that America has ever stood for proudly.

OK let's go through your questions. Trump has not attempted to shut down a free press, he has not for example had the IRS target liberal news outlets as happened to tea party and conservative organisations under Obama. Nor has he or other Republican politicians ordered law enforcement to stand down when extremist goon squads attacked his political opponents as a number of Democratic Party mayors and police chiefs have done over the past year. He's just talked about not giving liberal establishment media outlets special access to the White House. How is that any more anti free speech than if Obama refused Brietbart, Infowars and Rebel Media special access?

As for the sexual assault accusations some of the 'victim's'  stories are implausible and inconsistent with known facts and all that I've seen come across as staged and scripted. I'm reminded of the constant stream of fake hate crimes reported in the news and invented by attention seekers.

There's no evidence for Trump or his campaign being involved in treason and espionage, just a lot of furious spinning by a partisan witch hunt encouraged by partisan Democrat hacks like Comey and Brennan and Dem shills in the establishment media.

So of course I would criticise Dem politicians who suppressed free speech, were guilty of sexual assault or guilty of espionage or treason. If plausible evidence emerged that Trump was guilty of those things I'd criticise him as well. So far there has been no such plausible evidence against Trump.

[Hindsight was 2020]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

[Sir Mohamed]

No, he'd better shut down his presidency.

[Inmate Trump]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

Oh I get it.  It's just so frustrating to me that these people have so little regard for policy and country.  To them, it's all about the party and their ruler.

[EnglishPete]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

Oh I get it.  It's just so frustrating to me that these people have so little regard for policy and country.  To them, it's all about the party and their ruler.

Or perhaps its could be to do with the 'evidence' put forward against Trump in this non stop witch hunt just doesn't stack up.

[Hindsight was 2020]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

Oh I get it.  It's just so frustrating to me that these people have so little regard for policy and country.  To them, it's all about the party and their ruler.

Or perhaps its could be to do with the 'evidence' put forward against Trump in this non stop witch hunt just doesn't stack up.

So Michael Flynn, Manafort, firing Comey, leaking info to the Russians, "with a few exceptions", an now Jared are not evidence of anything on Trump-Russia but Obama meeting with Lois Lerner is evidence he orded the IRS to attack tea party groups?

[pbrower2a]

why you think that President Trump should grant special superior privileges to a very small and wealthy part of the press?

some people are more informed about topics, spend most of their living days informing themselves on them and are better built to ask the questions which are important for the general public, than amateurs, who have other jobs and responsibilities.

but that's just the boring truth.

And some people are hack propagandist shills pretending to be disinterested journalists. Why should they be granted special privileges?

President Trump seems to prefer that journalists be laudatory hacks exalting how wonderful he is. 

[Inmate Trump]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

Oh I get it.  It's just so frustrating to me that these people have so little regard for policy and country.  To them, it's all about the party and their ruler.

Or perhaps its could be to do with the 'evidence' put forward against Trump in this non stop witch hunt just doesn't stack up.

So Michael Flynn, Manafort, firing Comey, leaking info to the Russians, "with a few exceptions", an now Jared are not evidence of anything on Trump-Russia but Obama meeting with Lois Lerner is evidence he orded the IRS to attack tea party groups?

Exactly.

Not to mention the freaking NSA saying there is a connection.  Oh, and Sessions also had undisclosed meetings with Russia.

It's adding up to one giant scandal the likes of which has not been seen in this country before.  The biggest, most criminal scandal of a US president.  And the "patriotic," and "moral" party doesn't care one bit.

[TheSaint250]

No. The press room is important

[EnglishPete]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

Oh I get it.  It's just so frustrating to me that these people have so little regard for policy and country.  To them, it's all about the party and their ruler.

Or perhaps its could be to do with the 'evidence' put forward against Trump in this non stop witch hunt just doesn't stack up.

So Michael Flynn, Manafort, firing Comey, leaking info to the Russians, "with a few exceptions", an now Jared are not evidence of anything on Trump-Russia but Obama meeting with Lois Lerner is evidence he orded the IRS to attack tea party groups?

Didn't say Obama ordered it personally did I. Plenty of others in his government and within the permanent bureaucracy with the same SJW outlook.

[lordroel]

Before heading off on his foreign trip President Trump suggested he was thinking about shutting down the Daily Press Briefings at the White House, which often generate far more heat than light, and instead doing press conferences himself a couple of times a month (presumably not in that rather shabby looking room in the West Wing).

Whilst he has been away the daily press briefings have been paused, as is usual. I don't think the administration has suffered at all from them being paused. Newt Gingrich has suggested closing down the White House press room and instead doing online briefings direct to the American people. His reasoning is that many of these publications have become blatant partisan and dishonest propagandists hostile to the Trump administration and why would Trump want to grant them a stamp of legitimacy by inviting them in to the building.

On the latter point I think Gingrich is right. Of course Trump still needs to give attention to Network TV news that is still massively influential and he's been giving them attention with periodic interviews (like the one he did recently with Lester Holt). However as far as cable news and newspapers go fewer and fewer people watch/read them. If the behave like hostile partisan propaganda outlets why give them legitimacy by treating them and responding to them as anything more. I'm sure tens of millions of Trump voters wouldn't even be sure that the Washington Post and New York Times were still in print if the White House didn't keep arguing with them and responding to them like they were legitimate publications to be taken seriously.

Trump should close down the Press Room. He should keep the press office to issue press releases and organise occasional press conferences as well as publishing video reports directly online themselves. But the press room and daily press briefings serve no good purpose and should go.

Yes as it would save money, the White House only needs Twitter.

[Badger]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

Oh I get it.  It's just so frustrating to me that these people have so little regard for policy and country.  To them, it's all about the party and their ruler.

EP is the worst example. He walks a very fine line between an unabashed fascist, and quite literally suffering from mental illness manifesting itself in paranoid delusions. His posts make it rather clear he's gone beyond mere Trump defender extraordinaire to being a couple olives short of a salad. 

Put him on ignore and feel better.

[EnglishPete]

I told you Clay people like Pete have no problem doing mental gymnastics to defend Trump

Oh I get it.  It's just so frustrating to me that these people have so little regard for policy and country.  To them, it's all about the party and their ruler.

EP is the worst example. He walks a very fine line between an unabashed fascist, and quite literally suffering from mental illness manifesting itself in paranoid delusions. His posts make it rather clear he's gone beyond mere Trump defender extraordinaire to being a couple olives short of a salad. 

Put him on ignore and feel better.

LOL

[EnglishPete]

The best thing he could do is shut down the press room. That way the media can hit him even harder and he wont be able to respond. Eventually all of the hits will add up and he'll go down.

Why would he not be able to respond? Press conferences are just one, rather antiquated, way of getting a message out. He can put out his press releases, video 'fireside chats' online, Q&As online taking questions submitted online, and of course public speeches. The news media can, of report on all that just as easily as they can report on what is said in a press conference and, of course, a large portion of the public will get these messages direct from social media bypassing the traditional media.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Trump and his administration staff should be locked (comfortably) in Cheyenne Mountain,  with no communication with the outside world, for the rest of his term. It's the only way to be sure those dangerous leaks are stopped.

[EnglishPete]

The best thing he could do is shut down the press room. That way the media can hit him even harder and he wont be able to respond. Eventually all of the hits will add up and he'll go down.

Why would he not be able to respond? Press conferences are just one, rather antiquated, way of getting a message out. He can put out his press releases, video 'fireside chats' online, Q&As online taking questions submitted online, and of course public speeches. The news media can, of report on all that just as easily as they can report on what is said in a press conference and, of course, a large portion of the public will get these messages direct from social media bypassing the traditional media.

Isolation in the public eye is deadly.

If your getting hit with accusations daily...curling up in a fetal position and hiding from the world will only make it worse

Oh absolutely. The White House need aggressively and constantly get their message across to the public using several different mediums of communications. They certainly shouldn't hide away. Its just that old fashioned press conferences don't need to be one of the methods used anymore.