The president’s press secretary usually holds a daily press briefing in the room you can see pictured above. Friday, though, current POTUS spokesguy Sean Spicer ditched the podium and held an informal “gaggle” briefing elsewhere in the White House. Except he didn’t invite a bunch of mainstream media outlets, presumably because they have been too mean to the president, who considers them “enemies of the people.” Among the outlets that didn’t make the cut: CNN, the New York Times, BuzzFeed, the Los Angeles Times, the Hill, Politico, and the BBC. Breitbart.com, the Washington Times, and the One America News Network—all conservative outlets—were allowed in, as were ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox News.
For an explanation of what seems to be going on here, I recommend this New York Times Magazine piece about how Trump has taken advantage of 21st-century technological trends in order to undercut and embarrass the media with stunts like this one. It’s written by a guy I know, and it starts with a reference to a Slate piece by another guy I know. We all live in the same neighborhood, in which many high-end “artisanal” food products are sold, in Brooklyn. You know, maybe Trump has a point about the press being a little cabal of snooty jerks! Down with the press!
