President-elect Donald Trump has had a rather unorthodox transition as far as presidential administrations are concerned. While former presidents have informed the press of their every move, Trump has opted to play hard to get. Remember when the media flipped when he didn't tell them he was going to a steak dinner? Trump has not held a press conference since winning the election, opting instead to make his important announcements via Twitter. That is unacceptable to media pundits like CNN's Brian Stelter. "What is he hiding?" Stelter wondered out loud Monday night.
Most presidents-elect hold a press conference a few days after being elected. Trump was elected almost 5 weeks ago. https://t.co/kLk10TFjFA
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 13, 2016
Stelter is right that "most" presidents-elect play by the media's rules. But, if Trump has proven anything this past year it's that he doesn't fit the status quo. Why would he bow to the media's demands (particularly CNN's) after they mocked him for months?
Does anyone else find it ironic that the press is freaking out about Trump's 5-week press conference blackout when presidential candidate Hillary Clinton failed to hold one for over half a year during her campaign? At Townhall, we counted the days that passed since she answered any question from the media - it was nearing 300. Granted, that was a different situation since she was not president, but you'd think she'd make herself a little more available to the public.
Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner made the argument on "Outnumbered" on Tuesday that Trump's using social media allows him to reach a greater number of Americans.