The White House press corps and the media in general is working itself into a deep lather, because there might be changes in the White House daily briefing.
Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, floated the idea that the daily press briefing format and the briefing room seating chart might come under review. Quicker than you can say “spoiled liberal brats,” complaints started pouring in.
TheHill.com points out seating arrangements are made by the White House Correspondents Association, not White House. True enough. But that’s because previous administrations were gutless, and didn’t want to be accused of playing favorites.
Do you think Trump would care about that? I don’t. He’s already changed a lot of traditions the media was used to. Perhaps the change they resent most is he hasn’t allowed them to travel on his plane. And he even had the gall to say during the campaign that he thought libel laws should be reformed so that he could sue them more easily and win!
Now, the president of the White House Correspondents Association is a guy named Jeff Mason; he works for Reuters. He wants to meet with Trump to work out any differences. Okay. Fine. “Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Three bags,” and all that.
But the bottom line is, it’s up to the White House how the press briefings are run, and if there are any, who sits where, and who gets credentialed. If Priebus is serious about this, I’m telling you: This “Drive-By seating war” could be a hilarious spectacle to watch — and I, for one, cannot wait to see the gaskets blow!