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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Trump needs to answer more questions. Our readers have a few for him. | Trump needs to answer more questions. Our readers have a few for him. |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| PRESIDENT TRUMP took a few questions from reporters as he traveled through Europe over the past week, responding to one about Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 election with this confounding statement: “I think it was Russia, but I think it was probably other people and/or countries,” he said. “Nobody really knows. Nobody really knows for sure.” | PRESIDENT TRUMP took a few questions from reporters as he traveled through Europe over the past week, responding to one about Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 election with this confounding statement: “I think it was Russia, but I think it was probably other people and/or countries,” he said. “Nobody really knows. Nobody really knows for sure.” |
| Mark this as yet another moment in which Mr. Trump has made a bizarre declaration on a crucial national issue, leaving the press and public baffled about where he stands. Yet when reporter Hallie Jackson tried to ask a follow-up question, a moderator shut her down and ended the news conference. | Mark this as yet another moment in which Mr. Trump has made a bizarre declaration on a crucial national issue, leaving the press and public baffled about where he stands. Yet when reporter Hallie Jackson tried to ask a follow-up question, a moderator shut her down and ended the news conference. |
| Whether intentionally or not, the Trump administration fosters confusion and opacity. The president almost never holds wide-ranging news conferences in which a diverse group of reporters has the opportunity to question him and pose follow-ups. He sometimes takes questions in joint appearances with world leaders, but only a handful, and sometimes not. Though President Obama also conducted too few news conferences, he submitted himself to substantive questioning from citizens at town hall meetings in the early months of his presidency. | Whether intentionally or not, the Trump administration fosters confusion and opacity. The president almost never holds wide-ranging news conferences in which a diverse group of reporters has the opportunity to question him and pose follow-ups. He sometimes takes questions in joint appearances with world leaders, but only a handful, and sometimes not. Though President Obama also conducted too few news conferences, he submitted himself to substantive questioning from citizens at town hall meetings in the early months of his presidency. |
| And when journalists could not ask Mr. Obama directly, they could turn to White House spokes-people for clarification. Mr. Trump’s surrogates, by contrast, are of little use. Their evasions insult the intelligence of anyone listening. When questioned about Mr. Trump’s perplexing Twitter statements, they insist that presidential tweets speak for themselves. On simple questions such as whether the president accepts that humans are warming the planet, they say they have not asked Mr. Trump. On a staggering assortment of issues, they say they will get back to reporters later and never do so. | And when journalists could not ask Mr. Obama directly, they could turn to White House spokes-people for clarification. Mr. Trump’s surrogates, by contrast, are of little use. Their evasions insult the intelligence of anyone listening. When questioned about Mr. Trump’s perplexing Twitter statements, they insist that presidential tweets speak for themselves. On simple questions such as whether the president accepts that humans are warming the planet, they say they have not asked Mr. Trump. On a staggering assortment of issues, they say they will get back to reporters later and never do so. |
| Though it is the journalist’s job to press those in power on behalf of the public, reporters are not the only ones who can pose good questions. We asked readers what they would like to ask Mr. Trump, and many of you shared your questions. David Drabold from Athens, Ohio, wants to know what the president is doing to prepare the American workforce for a new wave of automation. Rebecca Flietstra from San Diego wonders what, specifically, can be done to reduce the U.S. prison population. Adam Bloom from Los Angeles asks what Mr. Trump is doing to minimize civilian casualties in the bombing of Raqqa, Syria. Submit your own here . | |
| We would add one more for the president: What do you have to fear in taking fair questions such as these, more than a handful at a time? | We would add one more for the president: What do you have to fear in taking fair questions such as these, more than a handful at a time? |
| Read more here: | Read more here: |
| Ruth Marcus: Authoritarianism creeps up on you. This is how. | Ruth Marcus: Authoritarianism creeps up on you. This is how. |
| Dana Milbank: Trump attacked the free press, and he got exactly what he deserved | Dana Milbank: Trump attacked the free press, and he got exactly what he deserved |
| Ann Telnaes: Trump vs. the free press | Ann Telnaes: Trump vs. the free press |
| Richard Cohen: Trump’s attacks on the press don’t hurt the press. They hurt you. | Richard Cohen: Trump’s attacks on the press don’t hurt the press. They hurt you. |
| Colbert I. King: Why Trump wants a war on the media | Colbert I. King: Why Trump wants a war on the media |