It was one hour and 17 minutes of—well, I’m not sure quite what. Donald Trump’s first official presidential press conference Thursday afternoon was at various times shocking, confusing, funny, frustrating. He harangued the gathered reporters his White House had asked to attend the event. He reoriented questions about his former national security advisor Mike Flynn toward talk of leaks, his preferred narrative. He took shots at the president of CNN and Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the “failing New York Times.” He pondered what the reaction from professional Washington would be if he were to “shoot that ship that’s 30 miles offshore right out of the water.”
But beyond Trump’s theatrics, the event was informative. So what did we learn?
Acosta for Labor
Trump’s first announcement—and ostensibly the reason for the hastily organized press conference—was that Alexander Acosta, a former U.S. attorney and former member of the National Labor Relations Board, would be his nominee for Secretary of Labor, to replace his first nominee, Andy Puzder, who withdrew on Wednesday. Trump noted that Acosta, a Harvard law graduate and former clerk for Justice Samuel Alito, has “been through Senate confirmation three times” and was confirmed for previous executive branch appointments.
The president also noted that he and Acosta “just spoke” before the announcement. But it’s not clear if Trump has actually met his likely future Labor secretary in person. The White House has not yet replied to a request for comment.
For Trump, Everything Is Going Great
Despite forcing the resignation of his national security advisor, having his signature executive order tied up in federal court, and frustrating his allies on Capitol Hill, the president declared his administration is “running like a fine-tuned machine.” He cited evidence, some of it more credible than others.
His first bit: A Rasmussen poll finds 55 percent of likely voters approve of Trump’s job so far. That’s just one poll, though, and it’s an outlier. According to Real Clear Politics, the poll average for Trump’s approval is just under 45 percent.
Trump also noted the booming stock market of recent weeks as a point in his favor. That’s a complex marker of economic success, and it’s unlikely Trump has had any direct influence on that. But it’s also hard to deny the president credit for a good economic outlook, too. The nomination of Neil Gorsuch was another data point for Trump’s success, and from conservatives’ and Republicans’ perspectives, it’s the best thing the president’s done so far.
But a “fine-tuned machine”? A few hours after the press conference, the Financial Times first reported that Bob Harward, to whom Trump has offered the newly vacant position of national security advisor, is turning down the job. That’s partly because of Harward’s unmet demands to have his own team at the National Security Council This, after Trump said Thursday afternoon he had found “somebody that I think will be outstanding for the position.”
Trump Enjoys Meeting the Press
For all of his complaints about the unfair and lying media, President Trump was having a good time in his Q&A with the press. “I’m actually having a very good time, OK?” he said at one point, as an aside. He likes the format and likely felt he needed a way to control the conversation. A senior administration official reportedly told CNN that Trump decided Thursday morning, “Let’s do a press conference today.”
He has a love-hate relationship with the press. “The media is going through what they have to go through too often times distort—not all the time, and some of the media is fantastic, I have to say, they’re honest and fantastic,” Trump said at one point. “But much of it is…distortion.”
Part of the reason he loves them? Too many reporters take his bait. Take CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s back and forth over Trump’s insistence on calling the network “fake news.” It’s a silly fight, but one too many in the media can’t help but get involved in, because they (understandably) take Trump’s attacks personally. But the Trump vs. media battle is one the president wants to have, because he thinks he can win. He’s probably right.
A more productive strategy for the press may be to ask Trump direct and targeted questions. There was a great instance of this on Thursday, when three reporters asked Trump separately if anyone in his campaign had had any contact with Russian intelligence during the election—as an anonymously sourced New York Times article earlier this week reported. Trump dodged the question for the first two but was pinned down by Julie Pace of the Associated Press, who finally got out of the president this answer: “Nobody that I know of.”
But until reporters start asking more straightforward questions about substance—and not letting up until they have an answer—the “theater aspect” of Trump’s press availabilities will continue. Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t take 27 days for another full-blown presidential press conference.
Song of the Day
“Live Forever,” Oasis
