President-elect Trump held his first press conference in almost six months on Wednesday. He said “inaccurate news” is why he waited so long to have another press conference.
To be sure, the press hasn’t been all that friendly to Trump. Buzzfeed publishing unverified radical claims about Trump on Tuesday is just the most recent example. Sean Spicer, who will be Trump’s press secretary in the White House, blasted Buzzfeed as a “left-wing blog” and said publishing the report was “a sad and pathetic attempt to get clicks.”
That said, if “inaccurate news” is really why Trump didn’t have a press conference for almost six months, was that truly the best strategy? Although press conferences mean taking unvetted questions from the press, they typically mean the news cycle focuses on what the person giving the press conference said.
If Trump is frustrated by fake news, having more press conferences would seem to be a better solution, because it gives him a chance to combat the inaccurate news. Holding his Wednesday press conference in spite of the late-breaking reports that Buzzfeed published was a smart way to get his message out.
Jason Russell is the contributors editor for the Washington Examiner.
