USA: Trump wants to restrict access to media conference
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to restrict access to the regular White House press briefings.
His staff had wanted to move the briefing to another room for space reasons. However, the media were against this, Trump said in an interview broadcast on Fox News on Wednesday. As a result, some media people would now not be able to attend, he explained. "We have so many people who want to attend, so we're going to have to pick and choose the people who get in. I'm sure other people will be thrilled about that," he added. The latter was obviously meant ironically. Trump repeatedly criticizes the work of the media.
However, it is currently not up to the White House to decide which media representatives have access to the press conference. The seats in the room have long been allocated by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), an association of journalists.
The room where the presidential spokesman's press conference currently takes place almost every day is not far from the Oval Office. Trump's staff had suggested moving the briefing to a room in another building.
