Silence from the Podium
Much has been made over reports that the president is going to limit those daily coronavirus briefings from the White House…instead of marathon two hour long affairs, supposedly they’re going to be much shorter, at times without his presence, at times without questions.
Some suspect it’s because an unscripted president speaking and taking questions for that long can step in a trap, or have comments taken out of context. Witness the recent internal disinfectant stories as one example.
But broadly, there’s a point at which these things run their course in terms of usefulness. All these elected officials who have daily briefings at some point are going to have nothing to say, or at least nothing that needs to be said from a public podium. Various county emergency operations centers have moved from daily to twice-weekly briefings, with updates as needed in between.
It’s also hard to say it’s time to get back to normal when doing an extended emergency news briefing. In times of a national crisis, having regular, updated information like a briefing that can be heard and seen live can be of great benefit. But it can also send a mixed message when they happen and either there’s nothing new to say, or we’re back on the road to recovery.
On the national level, it’s clear that had the president not done daily briefings, he’d have been criticized for it…just as he’s being criticized for doing it. That’s a broader battle. But the fact is that daily briefings, like a disease or crisis itself, run their course. So it may be here.
