US – #WeeklyAddress July 17-23: Will the new White House Communications team improve their relationship with the press?

1. After three weeks of silent press briefings, reporters grow restless

The White House held an on-air press briefing on Friday, July 21, the day Anthony Scaramucci was named White House communications director. Prior to that, the White House had not held a briefing on camera or allowed live audio recordings since June 29. During those three weeks, reporters expressed concerns about the bans on video and audio recordings in the briefing room. Ksenija Pavlovic, chief White House correspondent for her online news outlet Pavlovic Today, disregarded the audio ban on Wednesday, July 19, by live streaming audio of then-Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ briefing. Her decision to rebel against the rules came one day after Fox News reporter John Roberts walked out of a briefing early. When Sanders remarked on his early exit, he responded, “If [the briefing] were on camera, I might not.” CNN correspondent Jim Acosta is among the many reporters who have also been outspoken about the lack of transparency in the White House.

2. Changes to White House communications team draw questions about future relationship with the press

On Friday, July 21, Anthony Scaramucci was appointed as White House communications director. The founder of a global investment firm, Scaramucci served on Trump’s transition team’s executive committee and has been both a host for financial television show “Wall Street Week” and a contributor to Fox News. Sean Spicer, who had been serving as both press secretary and interim communications director, resigned from his role as press secretary that same day, replaced by Sarah Huckabee Sanders. On the night of Spicer’s resignation, Trump tweeted: “Sean Spicer is a wonderful person who took tremendous abuse from the Fake News Media - but his future is bright!"

During his first appearance since his appointment, Anthony Scaramucci answered reporters’ questions at a July 21 on-camera briefing about the relationship he envisions for the White House and the press. When asked if he would be committed to holding regular on-air press briefings, Scaramucci didn’t have a straightforward answer, saying he would discuss this with the president. In response to a question from CNN’s Sara Murray about the relationship he hopes the communications team will have with the press moving forward, Scaramucci said, “I had a personal incident with your news organization, and I thought I handled it real well. You know, you guys said something about me that was totally unfair and untrue, you retracted it and issued me an apology, and I accepted the apology immediately.” He said he empathizes with journalists who make factual errors, but he doesn’t like fake news. “You want me to be as candid as I would like to be with you, guys? There feels like there’s a little bit of media bias, and so what we hope we can do is de-escalate that and turn that around.”

3. Six months after taking office, Trump continues to fire tweets at the press

Just after completing his sixth month in office, President Donald Trump took to Twitter this weekend to send out a number of insults directed toward the news media. In one Saturday morning tweet, Trump wrote: “The Failing New York Times foiled U.S. attempt to kill the single most wanted terrorist, Al-Baghdadi,” referring to a leader of the Islamic State. The tweet appears to have been prompted by General Tony Thomas, leader of the Special Operations Command, who told a Fox News reporter on Friday that a 2015 report by The New York Times helped Al-Baghdadi fall off United States’ radar. A segment of “Fox & Friends” titled “NY Times leak allowed ISIS leader to slip away” aired after Trump’s tweet. In a rare move, The Times asked “Fox & Friends” to apologize both on air and on Twitter for its “malicious and inaccurate segment.”

On Saturday, July 22, Trump tweeted about the illegality of leaks published by the “Amazon Washington Post” and asserted an hour later: “While all agree the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us.FAKE NEWS.” On Sunday evening he again criticized the “Failing New York Times” and “Amazon Washington Post,” tweeting that it is hard to read because “every story/opinion, even if should be positive, is bad!”

The United States ranks 43rd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index after falling 2 places in the last year.

For the latest updates, follow RSF on twitter @RSF_en