What’s the point of attending a press conference if all you plan to do is ask the speaker a question to which you, your colleagues, and anyone with a fifth-grade education already knows the answer?
Appearing at a press conference just so you can maybe – maybe! – trick the speaker into saying something unintelligent or unflattering may be good for a laugh. It may play well with a certain audience, and maybe your bosses will love it.
But it isn’t good journalism. It’s showmanship. In other words, it’s the White House press corps.,
There is no shortage of examples illustrating just how unserious this group has become in recent years, but here’s an amusing incident from Friday morning that demonstrates perfectly just how bad the problem has become. The moment involves Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, CNN’s Jim Acosta, and Congress’ ongoing budget negotiations.
If the GOP fails to secure Democratic support for current budgetary proposals, the government may very well shut down. Democratic opposition is being spearheaded by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. As anyone with a basic civics education understands, a government shutdown is possible even though the GOP holds the Senate, because Republicans need at least 60 votes to pass an appropriations bill.
“At the beginning of this, you said this was the ‘Schumer Shutdown,’” Acosta began. “How can it be the ‘Schumer Shutdown’ when Republicans control the White House, the House and the Senate?” asked Acosta.
Because there are only 51 Republican senators and the GOP leaders haven’t yet come to an agreement with Democrats over military, Child Health Insurance Program and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals funding? Maybe?
Mulvaney responded, “Come on, you know the answer as well as anybody. I mean, I have to laugh when people say that. ‘Oh, we control the House, the Senate, the White House. Why can’t you get this done?’ You know as well as anybody that it takes 60 votes in the Senate to pass an appropriations bill. Right? You know that.”
“I know that,” Acosta responded.
Well, okay then. What was the point of the question again?
The OMB director continued, “Okay, so when you only have 51 votes in the Senate, then you have to have Democrat support in order to keep the government, to fund the government. So that’s the answer to your question.”
This is only a small example, but it’s a nice illustration of the sort of nonsense that occurs regularly at these briefings. I can forgive anyone who believes the White House press corps is in desperate need of a total cultural overhaul.
