Recently, President Joe Biden held a lengthy, unscripted press conference where he answered questions from reporters on a wide range of issues, showcasing his depth and nuance in addressing both foreign and domestic policy matters. This has led some critics to question why his opponent, former President Donald Trump, has not done the same.
It has been quite a while since Trump last held an unscripted, hour-long press conference with questions from reporters. In fact, it has been well over a year since he did one that wasn’t solely focused on his legal challenges. As a result, some individuals in the media are raising the question of when was the last time Trump had such an extensive press conference.
Steven Dennis from Bloomberg News raised this question, asking: “When is the last time Trump did an hour-long press conference?” Others, like attorney and legal commentator Tristan Snell, sarcastically remarked that the media will now demand Trump to hold a press conference on complex foreign policy issues.
Critics argue that Trump has been given a free pass, similar to the one he received during the 2016 election. They believe that he would struggle to hold a press conference for 40 minutes, given his incoherence and tendency to spew bile. CNN Political Commentator Karen Finney highlighted this, stating, “No way he could do a press conference for 40 minutes after 3 long days with world leaders.”
Dean Obeidallah, an attorney and SiriusXM host, called for an intense scrutiny of every word Trump says in the coming weeks. He wants debates on Trump’s mental state and demands that he holds a press conference where he can be dissected even further.
Interestingly, it has been observed that the media has not made the lack of press conferences with Trump an issue, unlike with Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. The last time Trump held a press conference that approached an hour in length was on September 16, 2020, when he was still President. Aaron Fritschner from C-SPAN pointed this out and shared some headlines from that press conference.
Since leaving office, Trump has made remarks on various occasions, but none of them have involved taking questions from reporters. In fact, during a discussion about the midterm elections on November 8, 2022, he addressed supporters for about four minutes without allowing any questions from reporters.
David Weigel from Semafor points out that while some may argue that the focus on Trump is just an attempt to deflect attention, it is true that he is receiving an easier ride with interviewers compared to what he faced in 2016 and 2020. He highlights that many of Trump’s recent interviews have been soft and lacking in tough questioning.
The lack of an hour-long, unscripted press conference from Trump has sparked criticism and calls for him to address policy questions from reporters. As the media continues to dissect every word uttered by the former President, it remains to be seen if he will respond to these demands and provide the depth and nuance that Biden showcased in his recent press conference.
Stay tuned for updates on this historic election, on Fan Reviews News.
