If you’re a reporter, and you’re given one-on-one access to the president of the United States, you need to make every second count.
You need to ask tough questions, and you need to press him to clarify his policy positions and his governing philosophy.
Or you can be like Breitbart News’ Matt Boyle and ask the president about something totally inconsequential, like when the Oscars presenters flubbed Sunday night by announcing that the wrong film had won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
This is not a joke.
Breitbart News published a story Monday titled, “Exclusive — President Trump: Oscars ‘Were Focused so Hard on Politics’ They Could Not Get the Basics of the Ceremony Right.”
The basic background here is this: A member of the group that produces the Oscars handed actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the wrong envelope Sunday evening, and the two actors mistakenly announced that “La La Land” had won the award for 2016’s best picture.
It turns out that “Moonlight” was the actual winner of the award, as sheepish organizers announced two minutes later.
The awards ceremony fiasco somehow made it all the way to the Oval Office Monday, where Boyle indulged Trump in his weird Oscars obsession.
Breitbart News’ former CEO, Stephen Bannon, serves now as Trump’s chief strategist.
“I think they were focused so hard on politics that they didn’t get the act together at the end,” the president said in his “EXCLUSIVE” interview with Breitbart. “It was a little sad. It took away from the glamor of the Oscars. It didn’t feel like a very glamorous evening. I’ve been to the Oscars. There was something very special missing, and then to end that way was sad.”
We get it. The culture wars are sexy, and stories about Hollywood “elites” get clicks.
I thought it was silly when the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Debra Saunders asked about the Oscars last week during a White House press briefing with Sean Spicer. I still believe reporters need to avoid getting distracted by things such as Hollywood awards show, especially when there are so many other pressing issues to chase after.
But at least her fluff question was asked during a routine White House press briefing, and not during an “EXCLUSIVE” one-on-one interview with the actual president of the United States.
The Breitbart News article claimed it would soon publish additional details from its “EXCLUSIVE” interview with the president, including his answers to questions on healthcare, tax cuts, immigration, and trade.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Boyle wasted valuable time with the leader of the free world asking about the time famous people gave some other famous people an award intended for other famous people.
Hard-hitting journalism indeed.
