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Donald Trump Threatens To Cancel All Future Press Briefings

Donald Trump Threatens To Cancel All Future Press Briefings

Latest announcement follows decision to sack FBI Director James Comey.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Donald Trump, the president of the USA and the world's 544th richest person, has threatened to cancel all press briefings following the fallout of his decision to sack FBI Director James Comey.

Despite his erratic behaviour in the White House to date, his decision to sack Comey came as something as a surprise. It has been suggested that the firing was a direct retaliation for Comey's possible involvement in overseeing an inquiry into Russian influence during 2016's US Presidential elections and the subsequent sacking of Michael Flynn.

Flynn was appointed Trump's National Security advisor in November of last year, but sacked following allegations that he met with Russian officials shortly after the Obama administration had brought in new sanctions against Russia, with speculation that the Trump campaign team had direct links with a Russian state suspected of interference in the election result.

James Comey
James Comey

Former FBI Director James Comey, Credit: PA

Trump is under fire for unsubstantiated claims regarding the sacking of Comey, who he referred to as a 'showboat' and a 'grandstander'. "The FBI has been in turmoil," he said. "You know that, I know that, everyone knows that."

However, reports suggest Comey had a good relationship with his staff, with acting head of the FBI Andrew McCabe arguing that the ousted boss enjoyed broad support among his staff.

With intense criticism of the decision an inevitability, and in light of tense standoffs with the media since his inauguration on 20 January 2017, Trump's threat to ban all media briefings still comes as a shock, as he has hinted that he may only provide written statements from hereonin. This would represent a notable break in tradition, from a US president who has already challenged White House media etiquette by not informing the press of his movements and, perhaps most significantly, banning certain media from attending briefings.

Sean Spicer
Sean Spicer

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, Credit: PA

His close confidant, the controversial former Hollywood producer Steve Bannon, has referred to the media as 'the opposition' while press secretary Sean Spicer has regularly come under scrutiny for a series of awkward press conferences. This could help to explain the president's latest statement that he may file written statements because he argues it is not 'possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy.'

The statement was followed with a tweet:


Trump is also under fire for allegedly asking Comey whether or not he was under investigation by the FBI with reports that he also asked the now former FBI director for a pledge of loyalty. Instead, Comey is said to have offered 'honesty'. According to reports, Trump then asked for 'honest loyalty', to which Comey replied, "You will have that." The conversation was this week disputed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokesperson.

With Trump having weathered a fractious relationship with many traditional media outlets both before and after his election to the role of US president, it remains to be seen whether he intends to see through his threat to further cut off the press.

Sources: Independent, Guardian

Words: Ronan O'Shea

Featured Image Credit: PA