White House Press Secretaries typically give daily briefings to the media on camera, and Sean Spicer did the same at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s term. But we’ve been seeing less of Spicer’s face on television lately. So why have they started happening only off-camera?
The Atlantic looked into why the White House has been slowly getting rid of press briefings, moving them off-camera and saying that audio from them cannot be used by reporters. Spicer addressed the press on camera on June 12 and next on June 20, which is more than a week without daily briefings, according to HuffPost. Trump himself hasn’t held a full press conference since February (which CNN called “an amazing moment in history”). Journalists are starting to feel that the briefings they’re attending are useless because pressing questions are never answered.
When The Atlantic tried to get to the bottom of why these briefings are now done only off-camera, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon responded in a text message with only three words: “Sean got fatter.” As in, the only reason press briefings can’t be on camera is because Spicer is uncomfortable being seen on camera after gaining some weight.
Not only does the comment avoid the reporter’s real question, but it also seems a little inappropriate coming from a White House official. Why can’t Trump’s administration just be honest?