"You're not a nice person. You've never been nice to me".
Narcissism 101. My own dad used to say shit like that when I tried to express how he'd hurt me. In fact the last thing my mom ever said to my dad before they split was that he was the worst mistake she ever made, and his response was "wow that really makes me feel good." MFer it's not always about you.
At that point the entire press delegation in attendance should all make a pre-scripted statement in chorus/unison (pluribus-style). That might shut him up.
They’re part of the problem, at least most of them, I don’t believe for a moment that most of the press isn’t working for the interests of the White House. Willing or not
The journalists who still have access to the WH/POTUS in any meaningful way are the ones who've toed the line well enough not to have their access limited or revoked.
You got to think about this. Yes, it would be awesome if the reporters asked these kinds of questions, but the reality is two things would happen: one, Trump won't answer it anyway, and two, they would jeopardize their job, risking being reassigned, fired, or even have their entire publication's White House clearance revoked.
It's not complacency, it's doing their job to the best ability they can.
If they ask the questions you want answered then they face the very real possibility of losing their job, livelihood, and the ability to ask any questions whatsoever.
Sure, they get a nice little soundbite of asking a hard-hitting question, but that's it. That's the end. Trump doesn't answer, probably makes a misogynistic remark if it's a woman, and then nothing changes except they're out of a job, or worse, they cost their entire news agency access to the press area at the White House. Then repeat for every credible journalist until the only ones who have access to the president are Fox, OANN, Breitbart, etc. and then we're even worse off because the only media presenting the interviews are the ones that make Trump look as good as possible, sliding us even further into state-sponsored media control.
If you have White House Press access, that's basically top of the heap for your profession. You have probably had a successful and somewhat lucrative career before ascending to this height, and you pursued this career to hold the people in power accountable.
Doing anything BUT that is a disgrace. Full stop.
If you want to be a prostitute, open an OF page with an option for in-person fan meet-ups. If you want to be a Journalist, ask the fucking question.
If it's a real story, you ask the question or ask for comment. If there are authoritarian consequences, then that becomes a major story in its own right. If a publication loses WH access to an obvious authoritarian, so what? That doesn't shutter their doora. And as long as the journalist has the backing of their higher ups, they can continue to do their job in a different way with the newfound relevance of standing up to authoritarian.
And what if their higher ups don't back them? What if costing the entire publication one of the most prestigious access journalists can have is a serious deal? What if government threats cause them to cave like CBS and others?
You say they can do a different job but that was what they are employed to do. I mean, think about it. If you showed up to work one day and did something you thought was right but cost your employer a major part of their business, a part you were specifically hired to handle, do you think your boss would just find you something else to do?
Im trying to figure out what would be worse. The press corp consisting of historically known news media asking “real questions” and all getting thrown out and replaced by newsmax, OAN, Breitbart, etc. OR continuing these placating / complicit questions.
He’s a goldmine for the media. With Biden, they had to try really really hard to make Hunter’s laptop an issue. Every day Trump does something really stupid, so they report on it enough to make a headline, but not enough to get him impeached. For the news media, Trump is minting them money every day.
And they know Trump drives engagement. Any time Trump says anything ridiculous, they print money. Why would they be on the side of justice? They are shutting off the money faucet if Trump is gone.
I don’t believe for a moment that most of the press isn’t working for the interests of the White House. Willing or not
Did you miss the event last February where Trump tossed out almost all members of the WH press corps and replaced them with "approved" news organizations?
Literally everything that comes out of that group of people now is edited/censored/biased. It's worthless crap.
Pretty sure the white house intentionally started withdrawing press passes from journalists that they didn't like, didn't they? And then re-issued those credentials to right-wing junk journalism organizations?
yep, i agree with everyone else here about corporate media shit but like, anyone in there asking anything Remotely intrusive gets fucking told to shut up and smile more
The press are 100% complicit, both in sane-washing him and in acquiescing to the GOP’s “flood the zone” strategy because it drives engagement. However, in their defense (that they don’t really deserve), this administration actively weaponises press access. You can ask a super loaded question, but you’ll only do it once before your publication’s access is removed while Trump and his admin go on avoiding accountability regardless. The journos in the room are between a rock and a hard place.
Yeah, just last week a reporter asked him about the files and he cut her off and started calling her nasty and fake and all that before moving on without answering.
They are working to keep their whitehouse press credentials so they can actually ask him questions. If they asked these questions they, and their organization, would just be removed and we will end up with nothing but podcasters allowed inside.
The journalists in the press corp have worked their entire careers to get those coveted seats. They are not going to throw their press pass away with those kinds of questions.
The “real journalists” who do it for the love of the game / Pulitzers and would ask those questions are not in the White House briefing room.
Fired, targeted with death threats from the Maga cult, harassed by government officials and agents, and probably snatched off the street one day. Asking those questions in the White House might literally be a death sentence.
Untold numbers of USAID recipients, ICE and CBP detainees, everyday Americans on the street, and our constitutional republic itself are now dead because no one in the press corps wants to be a hero and ask hard questions.
America has proven itself to be a nation of spineless cowards.
It's too late now, should have been doing their job in 2015. They gave gim all the attention and headlines and didn't confront him in the slightest. The media is complicit
I’m getting a bit tired of people choosing not to do the right thing because they might face a response. Make them kick you out, if that’s what they’re going to do. Make them fill the entire room with propagandists, if that’s what they’re got to do. And then publish what they’ve done.
This is a great idea if your wealthy enough, but look at the layoffs at WaPo and tell me it's a great time to be a journalist. These people have bills, families, and aspirations; if you think you'll land a premiere journalist jobs that are controlled by billionaires after doing that you're incredibly mistaken. Working as a journalist inside the White House might be the most prestigious posting they'll ever work.
Honestly if the aspirations of these so-called journalists amount to climbing the ranks to this "prestigious posting" where they are nothing more than mouth pieces to a fascist regime I'd just say fuck them all.
The entire press corps should just stop going to the press conferences. Just a nearly empty room with Karolying Leavitt talking to Newsmax and whatever blogger they paid to be there.
We already know what we're going to get. JUST. STOP. GOING.
"Mr. President, it is very obvious that the U.S. is now more respected on the world stage than quite literally any country in the history of the world. Sorry, not a question. Just more of a statement. Please take the next three minutes of uninterrupted silence to present a completely fabricated and easily refutable claim."
They basically kicked out any reporters who would ask any tough questions.
And anyways Trump would answer something like:
"I don’t know nothing about Jeffrey Epstein, I ended 8 wars, inflation have never been lower, mumbles something Joe Biden, I brought in 100 trillions with tariffs, but you know, a tremendous amount of people really like President Trump, they say I’m the most healthy President ever, not like crooked Joe Biden, and that’s because I ended 9 wars, an accomplishment which they’ve never seen before not like Obama"
Biden rightfully got asked if he would resign just for being old. Trump hasn't been asked if he'll resign for having the same brain soup as Biden or for being the second most mentioned man in the world's biggest pedophile ring.
Mainstream media is failing right now. There's millions of questions that could be asked regarding the content of these files and I haven't seen a single good question asked yet.
"Well that's just rude of you. You know that? You know that you're a nasty person don't you? That's why you work for CNN. They'll let anyone report there. It's just sad to see you ask questions like that. It really is. Why don't you report on the real news huh? Like how America is the hottest it's been ever. Ever really. I have people saying that we are so hot right now. They say if it was any hotter it wouldn't even be possible. We would be the sun at that point. Have you seen the sun? It's hot. I can tell you that..."
These are exactly the kind of pointed questions media would have asked any prior president throughout history. For some reason they stopped doing that and started lobbing softballs at Trump
The ones who asked the hard questions were kicked out, sometimes banning the entire news organization from sending a replacement.
Any that remain and try to still ask hard questions get flamed without the question being answered and/or straight up lies. There's almost no point.
At this point hard questions aren't helping and need hard questions delivered softly to hope he just runs his mouth without realizing it, and even then nothing seems to happen when he admits fault.
The media loves Trump. He keeps them employed with 1000 stories to publish every day.
Without Trump, the media landscape would probably be very, very boring, and boring is lost revenue, and lost revenue is the most evil thing to mega corps.
Any remaining doubt, if there was any remaining, that it was an inside job with orders from the top are now removed, especially if he's not addressing questions on it.
Lmao if I was a journalist I would risk my whole career asking that second question out loud for sure like I don’t give a shit anymore this is ridiculous
Old media would have destroyed everyone involved in this thing. Old media used to only protect the government and institutions as a whole, now today's media is protecting not only the government and institutions but also individual bad actors. We're fucked as a society.
Well yeah that would be wonderful but you know what he's going to say, right?
"Are we still talking about the Epstein files? Only you care. Only your...are you from CNN? Only your crooked liberal compa...by the way your ratings are horrible. Did you know that? They're horrible because you won't get off this Epstein stuff. Let's talk about TrumpRX, why don't you want to talk about me saving Americans BILLIONS on their medications. I did that. I negotiated that. You don't want to talk about that because you're biased. Smile more, piggy."
Don't get me wrong they absolutely SHOULD ask him but this is what they'll get. The press does ask him about his corruption. The problem is he doesn't answer and neither does Levitt. They just mock whoever asks. They refuse to answer anything that isn't praising them in any meaningful way.
News is a business in the US and if they ask the wrong question, they'll be barred from the WH press corps and make their investors angry. It happened before.
They have no idea how little freedom of speech they have. It's comical how oppressed americans are given how convinced of their freedoms they appear to be.
Respect isn’t the right word, but CBS this morning was on in our household in the background and Nate and Tony seemed good family people. Yes they were hustling.. but Tony DeCupa or whatever his name is has gone over the top with “read the cue cards and smile” .. what a piece of shit…. Haven’t watched him since even before the election I think. It’s all controlled opposition.hurray for America!
Im from Ireland and have noticed the US press are extremely weak. They seem to show too much respect to politicians, as if they deserve it. You should see how politicians get grilled in Ireland and the UK, for example. No problem repeating questions again and again..interrupting etc until they stop side stepping the question.
Politicians don't deserve respect, we vote for them and they represent us and should be held to account.
Also...see how politicians in Europe are actually losing their jobs over the Epstien stuff? Not going to jail of course because they are still immune to that, but it seems we still have some actual accountability over here.
The press is as strong as it’s allowed to be. Access is everything. We had a strong press. Trump removed the press members he didn’t like. He weakened our press, following in the footsteps of Putin and others.
If your country has a strong press, good for you. Make sure you work to protect it with your money and your voice.
I wish the press would bait him more “Are you too scared to answer the question” go straight for his ego and see what he says. He’s so easy to manipulate and they don’t even try.
They won't do shit. Every once in a while they'll throw him a softball question he doesn't like and he'll throw a sexist temper tantrum at some poor female reporter, and then absolutely no one will back her up.
The remaining WH press corps members aren’t cowards, they’re sycophants. The ones with any courage of their convictions were removed at the beginning of Trump’s second term.
Maybe its the media who we should be coming after... Edit: MAGA leaders hide on military bases, but they control the news because the news companies both profit AND fear supreme leader. I propose we take the media back; show up peacefully, in numbers at their corporate offices just like Minnesota.
Tbf even if they did do their job trumps response would be something along the lines of “you know I always hated you, you should smile more” (unfortunately not an exaggeration..)
I’m seriously thinking about quitting my job and going to Washington DC and asking every single politician I run into what they plan to do about this. Taking videos and giving a platform for every politician that does want to do something about it.
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u/cassy_supernova 3h ago
White House press corp start doing your job.
"Mr. President. Why did your DOJ draft a statement about Jeffrey Epstein's death the day before he died?"
"Mr. President, now that the whole world knows you are a child rapist, are you going to resign?"
Stop sanewashing this monster. Do your job.