without the on-camera briefings which which journalists have been pushing to
remain on camera and not have held off camera what I've been noticing is a lack
of answers let me show you what I mean first a lot of I don't knows from Sarah
Aqaba Sanders no I don't I don't know I'm not sure I don't know I'm not sure
we don't know I'm not aware of that I'm not aware of any specific I'm not sure
not sure about the specifics I don't know I'm not aware of that there's a
twist on the I don't know it's the I'll get back to you here's what we noticed
from all the briefings in August from Sanders I'd have to check on that and
get back to you I'd have to get back to you on that I'd have to certainly check
in to that I'd have to check on that and get back to you it's something I'd have
to check into and get back to you I will try to look into that I have to look
into that we will certainly let you know I'll let you know I'll let you know Mele
you know I hate to sound like a broken record I'll let you know we'll let you
know we'll let you guys know well you know let you know and certainly let you
know let you know that's gonna happen I'll certainly keep you posted we'll
keep you posted I'll circle back with it will continue to keep you guys updated
are you saying you will ask him and get back to us no I said I would have to in
order to answer that question so reporters say she normally does not
get back to those questions that are asked of the briefings sometimes the
press shop does Alice your reaction as a former communications director for a
campaign but clearly the number one mission and focus of the briefings
whether it's at the White House or on the state level is to to get your
message out and get your points out there and and put your agenda out there
and then obviously follow up with questions from the media and a couple
things to always keep in mind when you're in that position is to be factual
be consistent with your boss and make sure that if there are additional
questions that you make sure and you do that and and answer as many questions as
you possibly can and that is critical to do so but at the same time look Sarah
and the comms team there at the White House are available 24/7 to answer
questions for the media I know that for a fact and the press briefing is just
one aspect of what they do to answer the questions and it's also important that
while they're being factual and they're being consistent with their boss they
can't get out ahead of their boss if they're working on a program or an
initiative such as Daka she can't get out there in the press briefing and
something before it's out there and I know a lot of the questions that you
just played clips from where many of the same questions about an initiative that
hasn't been finalized yet and she really can't get out there ahead of it so with
regard to that I think it's important for for reporters to understand you know
when the administration is ready to announce a certain program then they
will certainly do it but it's never helpful to put it out in drips and drabs
at press briefings and I think that's obviously what Sarah's being really
careful to do in these cases wasn't it a head scratcher on on Friday
when the president said he was going to announce his dreamers decision on this
weekend or Monday then Erol Sanders said no it's gonna be on Tuesday just seem
like another frankly in the scheme of things relatively small but another
example of the confusion from the Trump White House well that's right I mean
look the reality is the the in effect the communications director I guess
they've gone through three or four of them now the real communications
director is sitting in the Oval Office right he's making his own schedule
he's determining the pace of policy development and the announcements and so
forth and so you know you look at I love that montage you put up there of the
comms team sort of just racking up IOUs I'll get back to you I'll get back to
you I don't know I don't know and and a lot of that is just the normal way
things are supposed to work because those are answers to questions about
various agencies some some fairly obscure time she doesn't want to ask her
boss she doesn't want to know what President Trump's gonna answer but she
says I haven't asked him I don't know well that's right and it sort of speaks
to the fact that this is a two-way street she is supposed to not just be
dispensing the party line I mean Alice is correct that's sort of the primary
job but she's also supposed to break back to the policy team to the White
House to the president if necessary that a lot of questions are coming from from
the public in the form of questions from the news media and that they've they're
gonna have to sort of step up the pace on some of these questions