Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley encouraged President Trump to allow the top health officials on his coronavirus task force to speak more during the near-daily briefings on the administration’s response effort.
The daily briefings, which can last up to two hours on a given day, prominently feature Trump touting the administration’s efforts to curb the pandemic. He often is joined by health experts such as Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci and has them present updates and answer reporters’ questions, but the president usually does most of the directing and talking.
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Haley, who is also a former governor of South Carolina, offered the president advice Friday morning on how he could more effectively conduct the briefings.
“But I also think he needs to let his experts speak. Let them talk about it,” she said during an interview on Fox & Friends. “I think he should go and set the tone. I think he should let them put out the data. I think they should answer any questions that the press has. And then, they should leave. I don’t think they need to be too long. I don’t think he needs to feel like he has to answer everything.”
Haley also said that in a time of crisis, a leader must be able to “overcommunicate,” which she argued Trump is “clearly” doing. She also suggested the briefings, which can last up to two hours on some days, don’t need to be as long.
The White House reportedly has no plans to change the briefings, even as it has received criticism for going off-topic. Recently, the president was asked a question about a possible pardon for Joe Exotic, the star of Netflix’s ratings winner Tiger King, and why former President Barack Obama had not endorsed Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board published a piece on Wednesday criticizing the president for making the briefings “all about the president.”
