President Donald Trump did not hold a daily press conference Saturday, expressing his frustration with the process.
The White House has held at least 50 press conferences with the Coronavirus Task Force in the past two months, according to the White House Youtube channel.
“What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The daily press briefings have been a fixture of the Trump White House for the last few weeks during the coronavirus pandemic, even during the weekends.
Despite some heated exchanges with White House reporters in the press briefing room, Trump’s daily press conferences drew record ratings to cable news channels, especially Fox News. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo continues having daily press conferences that are also aired live on cable news.
But after the media went wild over President Trump’s question to the doctors about injecting disinfectants or ultraviolet light into the body to fight coronavirus, the president appeared tired of giving the media record access.
“They get record ratings, and the American people get nothing but Fake News,” Trump wrote. “Not worth the time and effort!”
It is unclear whether Trump is ending the briefings altogether, or just for the weekend.
White House officials are reportedly reconsidering the value of the briefings and the president’s appearance at the podium.
Trump continued criticizing the media on Saturday, including the false claim that he called the coronavirus pandemic a “hoax.”
“Who would say such a thing? I said that the Do-Nothing Democrats, together with their Mainstream Media partners, are the Hoax,” Trump wrote. “They have been called out and embarrassed on this, even admitting they were wrong, but continue to spread the lie!”
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