After yet another off-camera White House press briefing Monday, CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta argued that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is "getting to a point ... where he's just kind of useless." "If he can't come out and answer the questions and they're just not going to do this on-camera or audio, why are we even having these briefings or these gaggles in the first place?" Acosta asked Monday on CNN. Acosta's best guess was that maybe the White House doesn't want "their evasive answers ... saved for posterity."
Acosta questioned why reporters are even "going along with this," as these off-camera briefings are not only "pointless," but they're also not "how we do things in this country." "It just feels like we're slowly but surely being dragged into what is a new normal in this country where the president of the United States is allowed to insulate himself from answering hard questions," Acosta said, accusing the White House of "stonewalling" reporters.
Catch Acosta's fiery commentary on the White House's increasingly frequent off-camera briefings below. Becca Stanek
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The rise of the performative maleTalking Point What the latest internet trope tells us about gender roles, dating and male illiteracy
-
5 cracking cartoons about the new Cracker Barrel logoCartoons Artists take on MAGA designs, real issues, and more
-
Should you downsize for retirement? Here's what to consider.The Explainer Moving to a smaller place may seem easier, but there are also some real benefits to staying put
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
