Goodness knows the job of White House press secretary can be frustrating. I worked for three of them, and there were many days when they wanted to run crying from the West Wing (for a variety of reasons).
Being the presidential spokesperson is the only job in the entire U.S. government in which one serves two very demanding masters who are often at odds with each other. The press secretary is the president’s ambassador to the press and the press’ ambassador to the president.
A public official is, of course, allowed to have contempt for reporters. But those who have such contempt should not serve as White House press secretary, just as those who dislike young children should not teach elementary school.
The current White House press secretary seems to have a genuine disdain for reporters — at least that’s how she comes through on the televised briefings. The snippy tone, beginning most sentences with “look,” “listen,” or “as I’ve already said…,” the occasional outright insults, they all convey a contempt for reporters.
But if Sarah Sanders does not respect reporters and value what they do, then the White House Press Office is not the place for her.
Unlike some in the press corps, I take Sarah at her word that she wants to be where she is. I also presume that she wants things to be better in the relationship. So here are five steps she can take to improve the relationship between the White House and the Fourth Estate. And the good news is, none of them require presidential action.
First, have press briefings every weekday the president is not traveling, including when he is on working vacations in Florida and New Jersey. Try to schedule them at the same time of day, depending, of course, on the president’s schedule. It is cynical to schedule the briefing so close to a covered event that it must be concluded after a very short time.
Second, speaking of concluding the briefing, it should be up to the senior wire correspondent present (or other reporter chosen by the White House Correspondents’ Association) to end the briefing by thanking the press secretary. The press secretary should not just walk off the podium when she or he feels like it.
Third, drop the “rule” about how many questions a reporter may ask. It is perfectly fine to want to exhaust a subject before moving on, but arbitrarily limiting a reporter’s ability to do his or her job is disrespectful of our system.
Fourth, tell the press office staff to quit screaming at reporters to leave the Oval Office, Cabinet and/or Roosevelt Room when the pool spray is over. Having been one of the staffers responsible for getting press pools in and out of those rooms during all eight years of the Reagan administration, I fully understand how exasperating it can be to have to say “Lights, please” 500 times before people start to exit, but semi-hysterical shrieking never works, is rude, and makes the staff look bad on television. (P.S.: Someone should remind the president that as long as he keeps responding to shouted questions, reporters will be reluctant to leave.)
Finally, take the daily briefings off television. They have become political theater of the worst kind on both sides of the podium. The networks will howl at first, but so what? It is way past time to cool things down in the briefing room and it should start by turning off the hot lights.
It is worth remembering that the White House Press Briefing Room is named to honor James S. Brady, who almost lost his life while serving as President Reagan’s White House press secretary. In the short time he was able to serve in that role, Brady set a standard which few have been able to meet since. I knew Jim well, and I am certain he would be distressed by the behavior on both sides of that podium. I remember him correcting me one day early on in the Reagan administration when I referred to the briefing room podium as his. “Nope,” he said, “it’s not mine. It’s not even Reagan’s. It belongs to the people.”
Will making these changes immediately improve the tone and tenor in the briefing room? It’s hard to say. As everyone knows, there are bigger issues at play in the relationship between the White House press corps and the Trump administration. But little things can make a difference. And it’s worth a try. As a candidate for president once said when urging a traditionally nonsupportive group to vote for him, what is there to lose?
Mark Weinberg is a communications consultant and the author of Movie Nights With the Reagans (Simon & Schuster, 2018). He was special assistant to the president and assistant press secretary in Ronald Reagan’s White House, and director of public affairs in former President Reagan’s office.
