The president of Russia did it. So did the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Turkey and Spain. Not President Trump.
The heads of state of at least a half dozen nations took reporters’ questions at the conclusion of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday. Trump, however, did not hold a press conference.
The president’s unwillingness to take questions from reporters is part of an undeniable pattern during his first six months in office.
President Trump has continued the anti-journalism rhetoric that marked his campaign for office. And he has assiduously avoided questions from the White House press corps.
During Trump’s first trip abroad in May — a nine-day excursion — he didn’t hold a single press conference. Back home, administration press officials have battled with reporters and Trump has limited himself largely to TV interviews and to brief Q&As during appearances with world leaders.
Trump did take questions from reporters on Thursday, during a stop in Warsaw, Poland, before the G20 summit started. He used the opportunity to publicly bash American journalists.
For a sitting U.S. president, that was an eyebrow-raising move. Trump’s predecessors have typically used their trips overseas to showcase U.S. government priorities and policies.
The G20 conference was Trump’s most high-profile appearance on the world stage since becoming president. It included his first sitdown meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.