In a surprising description of media-Trump relations, the head of the White House Correspondents’ Association has heaped praise on the administration for going the extra mile to make top aides available, reversing a decision to kick cameras out of the briefing room and even President Trump’s “appetite for interviews and near daily engagement.”
Looking past the president’s anti-media tweets, Bloomberg’s Margaret Talev said there is much to appreciate in the relationship.
White House Correspondents’ Association President Margaret Talev
“Even as tensions have flared publicly, the lines of communication are open and the relationship has been evolving,” she told the journalism site Poynter.
In fact, she used the word “positive” three times in one paragraph. She highlighted former Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s efforts to bring top officials to the briefing room, then said, “That’s a positive step. Other positive signs are continuing after Anthony [Scaramucci’s] tenure. The regular on-camera press briefings appear to be back under Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Her recent public statements about the role and obligations of the White House press secretary have been seen as a positive development by many of our members.”
What’s more, she didn’t hit Trump for skipping the group’s annual dinner and hinted at an invitation for the coming year.
“WHCA will celebrate its 104th anniversary next April and it’s been a proud tradition of ours — one we intend to continue — to welcome U.S. presidents as our guests to break bread with us in recognition of the principles being honored,” Talev told Poynter’s James Warren.
She made sure not to gloss over the problems in the relationship, saying, “The president’s unorthodox, aggressive and often-negative public treatment of the media has been at times worrisome, disorienting and frustrating. We’ve all had to learn to adjust while staying focused on the news and respectful of the office. But it’s also true that the press has appreciated President Trump’s appetite for interviews and near daily engagement and that his staff has worked behind the scenes with journalists to build a dialogue to work out a level of coverage that the public has come to expect.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
