President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel should have held the customary press conference following their meeting at the White House on Monday.
Their failure to do so is a sad indictment of the two leaders’ conception of their own responsibilities as democratic leaders. After all, as the chief executives of two of the world’s great democracies, Trump and Netanyahu should set an example for other leaders.
Subjecting themselves to reporter questions would have been a great way of showing other leaders, like Xi Jinping of China, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, and Vladimir Putin of Russia, that freedom and political power are meant to be companions, not foes.
But what’s also concerning here is that while neither man likes the media, there seem to be specific reasons why Trump and Netanyahu are hiding. On Trump’s count, the chaos surrounding his administration offers the obvious reason why he doesn’t want to put himself before questioners. On Netanyahu’s side, the possibility of uncomfortable questions over his commitment to Trump’s peace plan and an ongoing corruption scandal are likely motivating his reluctance.
Yet these are poor excuses for hiding. While Netanyahu and Trump present themselves as strong leaders who stand up for their people, here, they are cowering for their own sakes. Doing so, Netanyahu and Trump have expressed only disdain to those they are supposed to serve.
As Trump might put it on Twitter, it’s sad.
