The art of the press briefing in Trump White House

WASHINGTON: Visibly tense, Sean Spicer took the podium in the White House briefing room Monday, made a joke about how unpopular he is, and then launched into the subjects of the day, from Syria to China to health care.

It was Spicer’s first official briefing as White House press secretary, and he clearly was trying to smooth things out with reporters -- two days after attacking them with a vengeance, calling their work ‘shameful’.

For about 90 minutes, Donald Trump’s spokesman responded to questions on a wide range of topics, reinforcing the idea that the new administration’s style is going to fluctuate, much like Trump’s tweets — from angry and vengeful to conciliatory and unifying.

While the 49-seat briefi ng room in the West Wing is usually full to capacity when the president appears, it is often far less full for his spokesman’s daily briefi ngs.

But with Trump’s arrival in office on Friday, it was hard Monday to walk through the room — made famous in fi lms and television shows like ‘ The West Wing’ or ‘Veep’.

Spicer undoubtedly listened to the advice of one of his predecessors Ari Fleischer, George W Bush’s former spokesman, who suggested on CBS that he “cool the confrontation down a notch or three.”

Spicer told reporters: “I want to make sure we have a healthy relationship.”

“Is it your intention to always tell the truth from that podium?” asked one reporter.

“Yes, I believe we have to be honest with the American people. I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts. There are certain things that we may not fully understand when we come out,” Spicer replied. — AFP