Donald Trump’s stint as the President has set the White House back a couple of decades technologically. At least that’s what the staff of the White House says. The President, who turned 79 years old this year, reportedly likes to do things his way which happens to be rather old school. Here’s a round-up of Donald Trump’s peculiar habits that would be considered outdated in today’s fast-paced world.
Trump Reverting to Oral Briefings
Barack Obama’s presidency reportedly brought a significant change in how the briefings at the White House were conducted. The daily briefings reportedly turned digital when Obama served as the President.
The digital briefing turned into oral ones in 2018 when Trump started his first term in the White House. Rumors also dictate that the staff had to rely on visual aids to retain the President’s attention during these briefings.
President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C. Photo by @SmileItsNathan pic.twitter.com/2mqpI29jZL
— corinne_perkins (@corinne_perkins) June 10, 2025
The President’s aversion to reading also played a major role in the way these briefings were conducted. Sources claim that the President had one of the staff members read the brief out loud instead of reading it himself. The briefings that were conducted on an iPad during Obama’s stint as President changed to paper briefings in 2018 when Trump started his term.
Another change that happened with the daily briefings was that they weren’t conducted daily at all. Instead, the President decided that he would need a briefing only once a week. “You know, I’m, like, a smart person. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
Trump’s Inclination Towards Print Media
The President reportedly strongly prefers getting his news from newspapers. An ex-senior administration official spoke to Politico about his preference. The insider revealed that the President would often spend 12-plus hours reading the newspapers at times.
Here is an awesome and inspiring picture of Donald Trump reading the newspaper while sitting in the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/vsZjN9DnzQ
— Burt Macklin (@BurtMaclin_FBI) January 5, 2025
“He would literally sit on Air Force One for, like, 12 hours and go through stacks of newspapers,” the former staffer shared. They also noted that “religious” Trump was about his newspapers. The Washington Post, the New York Times, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal are reportedly some of Trump’s favorite sources of news when it comes to print media.
Trump Still Watches Cable TV
The President is reportedly an avid watcher of cable TV. Sources close to Trump share that the 79-year-old regularly watches Fox, Fox Business, CNN, and MSNBC. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reveals how Trump keeping up with cable TV comes with an ulterior motive.
Trump watches up to eight hours of television per day: report https://t.co/kh9DyvaL7q pic.twitter.com/WduRdh5ywd
— The Hill (@thehill) December 9, 2017
“He is very attuned to the fact that cable networks have 24 hours a day that they need to fill — and if you’re interesting, you are gold,” he noted. A source close to the President has also confirmed his obsession with cable TV. The insider revealed that Trump would easily watch about 5 hours of television during his first term as President.
Marc Fisher, who has co-authored the book ‘Trump Revealed,’ revealed that the President’s fascination with watching TV goes as far as him having to turn the TV on the moment he gets up.
