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WASHINGTON – Air Force One has become an air appeal center, the Oval Office, a revolving door for journalists, dignitaries and celebrities. Rock stars and secretaries of cabinet roam the White House alley, a place that can at any time be the venue for an impromptu press conference.
When President Trump enters one of the most talkative cycles of his presidency – and before the mid-term, a post-Supreme Court confirmation, there is absolutely one – the environment around him becomes a scene and the inevitable questions of a great strategy arise.
But there are none, say people close to him. His associates are simply tracing a path as the president speaks – and speaks and speaks and speaks – for himself.
"Honestly, it's Donald Trump in full," said Kellyanne Conway, presidential advisor. "His detractors would swear that the president is predictable and yet they have become predictable enough, they have the same sound, he is always mixing everything up.
Effectively.
A few weeks before the mid-session, Mr. Trump welcomes several "Make America Great Again" rallies weekly. With 60 to 90 unmodified minutes each, the cable networks ceased to operate reliably during prime time. This adds to several impromptu interviews and surreal media availability: "You taste a good wine!", Exclaimed rapper Kanye West while he was sitting in front of Mr. Trump in the oval office.
As usual, Mr. Trump held the fact checkers.
In addition to using at least three unpublished rally hours this week to present inaccurate factual claims against his enemies, the president also submitted an editorial criticizing the democrats' attitude in "Medicare for All "in USA Today, which was finally deemed misleading by the media. .
He falsely accused the Democrats of wanting to turn the US into Venezuela into an interview on Fox News, wrongly blaming the country's economic crisis on his health care system.
He repeated the lie that United States Steel opens "seven factories" to a crowd of supporters in Pennsylvania; he has not announced any. He cited a non-existent bill claiming that Democrats were supporting "open borders" at a rally in Kansas.
In anticipation of his meeting with Mr. West, he falsely claimed that the median income of African Americans had reached its "record", while it was higher in 2016.
In the midst of all this activity, the White House press conference is blurred, replaced by a happy president to talk about his own facts. The White House assistants, whose work requires journalists to shout at the camera, have at least lowered their voices (at least temporarily).
In the central circle is the president, who constantly believes that the more he speaks, the better his cover. According to his family, Trump is happy to be temporarily released from headlines related to the Special Advisor's investigation into his campaign's ties to the Russian authorities or details of his extramarital affairs. It feels as if questions about the Mueller investigation, Stormy Daniels or Michael Cohen have been asked and answered.
This means that the media is apparently no longer the enemy of the people, but the ones he calls before going to bed.
"It's the # 1 conversation topic across the country every day anyway," said Ms. Conway, "he could just as well do his part."
In recent weeks, members of the White House's communications team – including Bill Shine, former co-chair of Fox News and now assistant chief of staff for communications, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, press officer – withdrew from the background as Mr. Trump assumed his share of communication tasks.
"The President is always the best messenger," said Sanders, "and we are proud that he is as accessible and that he always communicates directly with the American people."
Several of the president's relatives said Trump was encouraged by what he saw as the success of his 81-minute press conference at the United Nations General Assembly and another long in the Rose Garden on the renegotiation of the Nafta. During both sessions, the president seemed energetic as he was talking to reporters.
And this energy has reaffirmed his desire to speak more. Journalists are now on the verge of receiving late-night phone calls and impromptu interviews from the Oval Office, and the White House is about to receive a flood of maintenance requests.
In addition to responding to requests from Fox News – he has already scheduled interviews for next week, including one with Fox Business Tuesday – requests from mainstream media, such as "60 minutes, "particularly seduced a president who boasted to his allies can not believe the frequency with which he has made the front page of the New York Times since his arrival as president.
When he does not appear on the front page of his favorite newspapers, said two former collaborators, he made a point of doing or saying something to get there the next day.
Is presidential overload possible? At least one former White House press officer does not think so.
"Every journalist should celebrate," said Ari Fleischer, press secretary to President George W. Bush. "And it will be a good strategy until the president is probably hiding."
Others see Mr. Trump heading for a treacherous territory while he speaks repeatedly. Asked about the fate of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi editorialist of the Washington Post supposed to have been assassinated, Trump seemed less concerned about Khashoggi's disappearance than about losing money to the Saudis if it were lucrative. . the arms business falls through.
"I would not be in favor of preventing a country from spending $ 110 billion – which is an all-time record," said Trump, referring to a bloated business figure that will, for the most part, lead to the sale of arms create jobs in Saudi Arabia.
On Friday, Mr Trump announced that he would phone the Saudi king. "No one has been able to put everything in place," Trump told reporters.
Mr Fleischer said that the President's comments in real time on the situation did not constitute a danger. Instead, they reveal "the moment and the rhythm of what he thinks".
But all those who served on the White House podium do not think that the window on Mr. Trump's psyche is safe.
"The only problem with a president who talks too much, is that he could highlight his ignorance," said Mike McCurry, press secretary to President Bill Clinton. "That's why presidents are informed, repeat talking points, do workouts before dealing with the media and usually do not do what Trump does, that is, the smooth. "
While the media in Washington hardly follow a president who talks where he goes, fatigue can be visible outside the capital: the frequency of the president's rallies and the repetitive speeches he gives appear to have put a strain on the patience of some viewers.
Fox News, after regularly incorporating the usual programming of Mr. Trump's speeches, has been reduced in recent weeks.
The change coincided with a fierce news cycle, including the controversial confirmation of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court, which earned Fox News one of this year's best audiences. And some network members have not lost sight of the fact that the numbers for experts like Tucker Carlson were pretty much the same and, in some cases, better than Trump's on the strain.
Prime-time speeches in prime time have also started some of the network's most lucrative advertising blocks. In Fox News, a producer is usually responsible for monitoring Trump's speeches, as the network is ready to go live if the president says something really interesting.
The president, obsessed with cable TV, mentioned the lack of prime-time coverage, but does not seem particularly upset about it, according to his aides. These days, it is usually at the next event.
"If he's attending four rallies, four interviews and eight pool sprays a week," said Ms. Conway, "in some ways it's already ubiquitous."
Katie Rogers reported from Washington and Maggie Haberman from New York. Linda Qiu provided reports from Washington and Michael M. Grynbaum from New York.
