For years, the White House James S. Brady Briefing Room has been the scene of one unhappy, contentious affair after another. Press conferences – especially during the Trump years – have been filled with rancor and acrimony. But on Friday (June 27), something happened on the way to the nasty presser: It appeared the news media was having some fun. Save a few hostile members of the Fourth Estate, the presidential press conference in the Briefing Room – for once, at least – shed more light than heat on the issues of the day. It was a refreshing, albeit shocking, change.
Not since the days of John F. Kennedy has there been such mirth in a presidential presser. JFK was known for routinely making quips that amused the press corps. His quick wit allowed him to skate by uncomfortable questions, and he often used it to his advantage.
Alternatively, the mainstream media approached the Trump administration with such loathing and malice that very little information could be exchanged during White House Press Briefings. But this time, it was different as President Trump riffed and weaved his way through dozens of topics.
The press briefing was ostensibly called to discuss the US Supreme Court ruling that will require district courts to stay within their own jurisdictions and prohibit their judicial orders from being applied nationwide. This was not a new tactic, but it was used repeatedly by the left to stymie much of the Trump agenda. Even the media had to concede it was a big win for the administration.
Buoyed by a successful military mission to take out Iran’s nuclear capabilities, as well as a successful trip to The Hague for the NATO conference, Mr. Trump used the opportunity to weave his MAGA message through myriad topics. And the news media appeared pleased to have a chance to ask the commander-in-chief about all of them; for the most part, the discussion was cordial.
Excerpts From the Press Briefing
Here are a few topics correspondents threw out to the president for his input:
Question: “Mr. President, you have a deadline coming up on trade in two weeks. Which countries, if any, are close to an agreement with the administration?”
President: “Well, that’s an interesting question. We’ve made a deal with China. We’ve made deals with probably four or five different countries, and the UK was a great deal for both. We’re in the process of making some others.”
Question: “Mr. President, on your tax bill. If I could for a moment, senators are racing to rewrite parts of it right now after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that sections of it are outside the process they’re using to get this through. Do you think that senators should respect the decisions of the parliamentarian? What have you personally done in the last 48 hours to try to get Republican senators who are against the bill to a ‘yes’?”
President: “Well, look, it’s a great bill. It’s a massive tax cut. If it’s not approved, your taxes will go up by 68%. Think of that 68 – a record, the highest in history. The Democrats won’t approve it only because, politically, it’s so good for the Republicans.”
Question: “[About the 2020] election. Is there any more information on the special prosecutor? So many Americans still have questions about the 2020 election, and speaking of rogue judges, would you consider appointing somebody at the DOJ, maybe to investigate the judges that allowed for the political persecution of you, your family, and your supporters during the Biden administration?”
President: “I love you. Who are you? Well, it’s just a very nice question, and it’s not a setup. I have no idea who you are, but I appreciate that question. All I can say is we’re not here for that. I hope so. I hope they’re doing something because that election was rigged and stolen, and we can’t allow that to happen. A lot of people tell me, sir, you just won the greatest election in the history of our country… And many people that say that, good people, friends of mine, then you have people that say that same thing, go on with your life, but you have to find out what happened because you can’t let that happen again …”
Question: “President Trump, [regarding] Lebanon. I want to ask you regarding the threats caused by Iran and [their] proxies operating in the US: They were threatening your life. So what do you say about that and regarding Lebanon, because Hezbollah is Iran’s ally, any time frame in Lebanon regarding this army? Hezbollah in Lebanon?”
President: “We’ll try and straighten it out. Have they threatened my life? Yeah, they have threatened.[Then teasingly:] I get that throbbing feeling every once in a while, get that throbbing feeling [in my ear]. But you know what? That’s okay. This is a dangerous business. What I do is a dangerous business. I tell the story of the car companies and different people in different professions. You have race car drivers. As an example, one 10th of 1% die. [Then there are] bull riders, one 10th of 1% [die]. That’s not a lot, but when you’re president, it’s about 5%. If somebody would’ve told me that maybe I wouldn’t have run. Okay, this is a very dangerous profession …
“So many questions. Should we keep this going, Pam [Bondi]? [Hoots and yells of NO!] This is the opposite of Biden. Biden would take half a question, and he’d leave without answering it. Go ahead. You tell me when it gets boring.”
These are just a few of the many questions posed to Trump, but they give you a sense of the event. And the truth is that it never became dull. If it hadn’t been stopped after about 45 minutes, odds are it would have continued for a very long time. There seemed to be no end to the questions that reporters pitched to Trump and his team in the James S. Brady Briefing Room. Their thirst for more answers from the president appeared unquenched.
Perhaps the pent-up demand for time with the president of the United States stemmed from the long, dry spell of the Biden era. Or it could be that, with so much happening, there is a hunger for interaction with the man in charge. Either way, it has been a very long time since the media appeared interested in what the president had to say rather than focusing on their petty concerns and rank hostility. That, in and of itself, is what the president would call a big win – not just for himself, but for the American people.
