Donald Trump Breaks 50-Year-Old Record Of Not Holding A Formal Press Conference For More Than A Year

Donald Trump has broken another record.

While already the most unpopular president in the post-war era, Trump has now gained the dubious acclaim of becoming the first president since at least Lyndon Johnson for not having held a single press conference in more than a year, reports the Daily Beast.

His last formal press conference came well over a year ago — three weeks into the presidency to be precise — which is remembered for the many insights it provided journalists into how the first year under a Trump presidency was going to pan out. In the same amount of time, Obama had given 11 press conferences, while George W. Bush, in his first year as president, faced the press five times in a formal setting.

It was during this last press conference that Trump labeled the allegation that Russia meddled with the 2016 U.S. elections “fake news” and it is here that he let out a rebuke for White House staffers who were leaking information to the press.

“Russia—this is fake news put out by the media,” Trump had said. “The real news is the fact that people, probably from the Obama administration [are leaking] because they’re there, because we have our new people going in place, right now.”

It is also the press conference where Trump exalted his admiration forFox and Friends, saying they were the most honorable people in the media business.

“Fox and Friends in the morning, they’re very honorable people. They have the most honest morning show. That’s all I can say. It’s the most honest.”

President Trump has set a new record, writes @scottbix: The longest time without a formal press conference in half a century https://t.co/uyRm2Gn2DB

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) February 16, 2018

Trump’s disdain for press conferences was not entirely expected though. During the campaign trail, the Republican candidate was not only candid with the press, but often went out of his way to respond to questions by journalists. The Trump campaign even sent fundraising emails to donors lambasting his opponent, Hillary Clinton, for having gone without a press conference for seven months, saying the Democratic candidate was afraid of tough questions.

Crooked Hillary Clinton has not held a news conference in more than 7 months. Her record is so bad she is unable to answer tough questions!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2016

In the year following his election, however, the president has gone back on his own words, and often only allows his “favorite” journalists to ask questions during “two-and-two” joint press conferences with other world leaders.

With pressure continually mounting on Donald Trump on various fronts, from the DACA deal to abuse allegations by White House staffers, to gun reform, one could expect that the coming days will bring tougher questions for the president. Whether or not he answers the concerns in a solo press conference remains his prerogative, but it is something that could hurt the GOP in the midterms.