Sarah Huckabee Sanders defends the growing number of press briefings at the White House

The White House seems to be organizing fewer and fewer press conferences these days, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders has defended the practice, The hill reports. Sanders appeared on Fox News Sunday and argued that press briefings are not really necessary these days. She said that since President Trump is willing and open to questions in other interviews, the press does not need to be informed regularly.

"Look, we are talking to the press in different ways," she said. "The day of the briefing, the atmosphere was incredibly different and you did not have the same access and the same means to communicate with the American public."

In general, most presidents provide the press with almost daily briefings. This is partly motivated by political considerations, in order to keep the agenda in mind. But it also promotes an atmosphere of transparency, as reported daily by journalists. Now, said Sanders, it is possible that we do not have a press conference for at least three weeks.

Sanders confirmed that there would still be press points at the White House camera posing on the podium. Many feared that they would be canceled.

"But I still think that if you can hear directly from the president and the press has the opportunity to ask questions directly to the President of the United States, it is infinitely better than talking to me," she added. "We are trying to do it a lot and you have seen us do a lot in the last three weeks, and this will replace a press conference when you can talk to the President of the United States."

Sanders was referring to other interviews or sit-ups that the president does with foreign leaders and other small interviews. Only one press briefing has taken place so far in September, namely 10 September. No briefings have taken place since allegations of sexual misconduct have been raised about Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh.

Some have criticized accessibility because the small meetings that Sanders has referred to do not allow all journalists, and Trump does not have to answer all the questions. These seem to be situations of choice, where Trump chooses journalists who will show him in an indulgent light. Sanders apparently also considered the idea of ​​having fewer cameras in the briefings. She said some journalists were at risk during press briefings, although she did not mention specific examples.