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- President Donald Trump has been reluctant to do TV or press briefings even after his Twitter account was removed as he often doesn’t know the answers to questions, The New York Times reported.
- An advisor told the Times that Trump doesn’t like when he is asked questions that he doesn’t know the answer to, and other advisors said that Trump doesn’t like being questioned about his claims.
- Trump was banned from Twitter last week after his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
- He has not spoken to the press in the White House or done TV appearances since.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump has been reluctant to do in-person briefings through TV or press briefings even after his Twitter account was taken away because he often doesn’t know the answers to questions, The New York Times reported.
The Times’ Maggie Haberman reported that Trump spent the weekend, the first since he was banned from the platform, “cycling through fury and acceptance” at his account being removed after his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
The Times noted Trump’s extensive history with television appearances, including his pre-presidency role with “The Apprentice.”
But it also noted that, as his presidency began, Trump pivoted to doing most of his communication through Twitter rather than through TV appearances, interviews, or press briefings – and he has not yet turned to those communication strategies in order to make up for his lost reach on Twitter.
One Trump advisor told the Times that Trump did not like most parts of his job, including when he is asked questions that he doesn’t know the answer to.
And other advisors told the Times that Trump didn’t like being questioned about his claims, like his false claims about how the US would recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Times noted that Trump’s appearances outside of Twitter often saw Trump’s message filtered: Many news outlets that interviewed Trump asked tougher questions as his presidency progressed, and many outlets stopped airing speeches he made in full or without live fact checking of his claims.
And aides told the Times that Trump enjoyed watching news coverage change after he tweeted.
Trump is due to visit the US-Mexico border on Tuesday, where he plans to give an update on his border wall.
The Times reported that this kind of event, with a strong visual, is designed to try and get TV coverage.
Twitter permanently removed Trump from its platform on January 8, saying: “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
A pro-Trump mob broke into the Capitol after Trump addressed his supporters and told them to march on the Capitol.
They resulted in lawmakers being evacuated from a joint session of Congress to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.
Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died. And another officer who was on duty died days later in an apparent suicide.
The Times reported that he spent this weekend convinced that his removal from Twitter would embolden his supporters.
A senior administration official previously told Politico that Trump went “ballistic” after his account was removed.
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