Stephanie Grisham Claims Press Used White House Briefings 'To Get Famous'

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is defending the White Houses decision to break with its past tradition of daily press briefings, claiming reporters were using them to get famous rather than to get the news.

Asked in a Monday Fox & Friends interview whether the briefings would return anytime soon, Grisham balked at the idea.

Not right now, she said. I mean, ultimately, if the president decides that its something we should do, we can do that, but right now hes doing just fine. And to be honest, the briefings had become a lot of theater, and I think that a lot of reporters were doing it to get famous.

Continuing, Grisham argued that journalists writing books are part of the problem, asserting that theyre all getting famous off of this presidency.

And so, I think its great what were doing now, she added.

White House Press Secretary: Trump ended press briefings because reporters \"weren't being good to his people. He doesn't like that. He is very loyal to his people and he put a stop to it.\" pic.twitter.com/Z0OaK6kM2D

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White House Press Secretary: Trump ended press briefings because reporters "weren't being good to his people. He doesn't like that. He is very loyal to his people and he put a stop to it." pic.twitter.com/Z0OaK6kM2D
Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) September 23, 2019

Grisham has yet to hold a traditional briefing, a practice which effectively ended under her predecessor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders , who left the post in June.

During her tenure, Sanders was known to opt instead for appearances on Fox News where she now works as a contributor.

In an August interview with Sinclair Broadcasting Groups America This Week , Grisham indicated the briefings could return but that it would ultimately be up to President Donald Trump to make the call.

In an effort to justify the decision in her latest remarks, Grisham contended that the briefings were intended to provide a space for Trumps spokesperson to speak to his policies and get his message out there, stating that reporters werent being good to his people.

And he doesnt like that, she said. Hes very loyal to his people, and he put a stop to it.

In a January tweet , Trump unleashed one of his routine attacks against the media, stating that Sanders hadnt visited the podium much because the press covers her so rudely & inaccurately.

I told her not to bother, the word gets out anyway, he wrote.

The administration has pointed to Trumps face-to-face interactions with reporters while preparing to board Marine One, for example.

However, as Olivier Knox, then-president of the White House Correspondents Association, told The New York Times , the on-the-go talks arent a substitute for daily briefings.

While other avenues exist to obtain information, the robust, public back-and-forth weve come to expect in the James S. Brady briefing room helps highlight that no one in a healthy republic is above being questioned, he said in January. This retreat from transparency and accountability sets a terrible precedent.