[ad_1]
How the White House regularly provides info to reporters
Trump’s supporters might not know this, but the White House regularly hosts what are called “background briefings.” At those briefings, a senior administration official will brief the press on certain subjects and take questions from reporters. Only catch? The information is often not attributable to the person, but to an unnamed “senior administration official.”
The White House press office also uses this tactic. When reporters ask White House spokespeople questions, it’s not unusual for them to get a response back providing information attributable only to an unnamed “White House official.”
Neither of these practices are new, of course. But Trump’s suggestion that unnamed sources should never be trusted is. The bottom line: When Trump tells people not to trust information that is sourced to an unnamed person, he is effectively telling people not to trust much of the sanctioned information that is coming from his own White House.
Will this change? No answers
I asked Grisham if the White House will now suspend the practice of mandating that sanctioned briefings be on background. Will the White House now put all such briefings on the record?
I also asked Grisham if the White House press office would cease responding to reporter inquiries with information attributable only to an unnamed “White House official.” Will it suspend that practice, and provide all information on the record from now on?
I did not get a response.
[ad_2]
Source link