| | | | MISSING: The White House press briefing | | Over the last 30 days, the Trump White House has held only 10 on-camera press briefings -- and those briefings have averaged just more than 17 minutes each.
Those stats, courtesy of CNN White House super producer Allie Malloy, are reflective of a President -- and a broader White House -- that is increasingly disinterested in answering questions from reporters in any sort of structured environment.
It's a "back to the future" moment for the White House, which in the early days of Trump's time in office suspended the on-camera briefing for days at a time -- arguing that it served no purpose other than to let reporters try to dunk on then-press secretary Sean Spicer.
"I think that the press office should be available, as they are, to give the press responses and updates as to what's going on at the White House, but I think the daily briefing is sort of worth reexamining," Spicer said in an interview that aired Sunday on C-SPAN. "The briefing has become more of a show than an outlet of information for the media."
It's not clear whether current press secretary Sarah Sanders agrees with Spicer's sentiment. But the numbers don't lie. It's not been a daily briefing for the past six weeks. It's been a twice-a-week briefing.
But wait, you say! President Trump talks to the media all the time! He spent 30 minutes answering questions just yesterday alongside the South Korean President!
Correct -ish. Yes, Trump does have a tendency to let reporters barrage him with questions at photo sprays, or as he is walking out of the White House to get on Marine One.
But Tuesday's experience is instructive here. Asked whether he had confidence in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein -- a totally fair question -- Trump used his foreign guest as a shield, arguing that the question didn't befit the moment. Huh?
As long as Trump does things like that, the media should keep pushing for more presidential news conferences or, in lieu of that, more daily press briefings from Sanders.
The Point: The White House is reportedly shrinking its communications staff amid unhappiness from Trump about leaks coming out of the West Wing. That move, combined with the dearth of Sanders' briefings of late, send a very specific message: This White House is moving toward less interaction with the media, not more.
-- Chris | | "I have to say there is more work to do."
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, regarding safeguarding the integrity of American elections ahead of the 2018 midterms. | | | SUMMIT DETAILS COMING SOON | | President Donald Trump is scheduled to have a summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore. There's even a coin to commemorate the upcoming occasion.
But, earlier this week, the President cast some doubt over the historic encounter. "We will know next week about Singapore," he told reporters at the White House before departing for New York on Wednesday.
"Someday a date will happen. It could very well be June 12. Someday, a date will absolutely happen," he said before boarding his Marine One helicopter.
Read more in CNN's story by Kevin Liptak. | | | House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will sit down with CNN's Chris Cuomo for a town hall tonight at 9 p.m. ET to answer questions on some of the most critical issues in today's political world. Tune in tonight to watch on air, or via CNNgo at CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps. | | KUSHNER'S CLEARANCE RESTORED | | CNN's Evan Perez, Gloria Borger and Pamela Brown report: "President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, had his White House security clearance restored Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said, after months of uncertainty stemming in part from his role in the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
"Kushner met with Mueller's investigators a second time in April and answered questions for seven hours, according to his attorney, Abbe Lowell. He had previously sat for an interview last November that was largely focused on former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who soon after pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements to the FBI. ... The Kushner team believes he is now finished with all ongoing inquiries, which also include the investigations by congressional committees, according to a person close to Kushner."
Read more here. | | Former White House photographer Pete Souza -- known these days mostly for his trolling of President Donald Trump on social media -- has announced book No. 2.
The title, appropriately, is "Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents," and it hits bookshelves October 16. "Through my photographs and commentary, SHADE will vividly show where we are as a country contrasted with where we were," Souza wrote on Instagram. Read more in CNN's story here. | | West Hollywood: Adult film star Stormy Daniels will be honored with an official "Stormy Daniels Day." Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, alleges she had a sexual relationship with President Donald Trump and was paid $130,000 by Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, as a hush payment
Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Daniels in New York in April. The suit is separate from another lawsuit in which Daniels is suing Cohen over the legality of a 2016 agreement in which she was paid to keep quiet about the alleged affair with Trump.
The city of West Hollywood, in Southern California, gave Daniels a key to the city on Wednesday afternoon. Read more in the Los Angeles Times' story here. | | | From Brenna: "Air quotes. Everyone's favorite. Today Sen. Chuck Schumer and some of his colleagues pointed out how expensive gas is -- in front of a gas station that regularly seems to cost more than its nearest competitor, but is conveniently closest to the Senate office buildings." As always, thanks for reading. Tell people you know to subscribe to The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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