The Atlantic

The White House Press Briefing Is Slowly Dying

The daily appearance by the press secretary has become rarer, and moved off camera. Asked for an explanation, Steve Bannon said, “Sean got fatter.”
Source: Carlos Barria / Reuters

Over the course of the Trump administration, the White House’s daily press briefings have been pared progressively further back; they are now shorter, less frequent, and routinely held off-camera.

The daily briefing is a venerable Washington tradition, though one that has often been a target of criticism. Media critic Jay Rosen has called for media outlets to “send the interns,” arguing that the briefing is a largely useless exercise in grandstanding. President Trump himself has publicly mused about canceling them, tweeting “Maybe the best thing to do would be

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