A man who was an aide to former President Joe Biden said Thursday on Fox News that there’s a contrast between how Democrats handle press interactions versus how President Donald Trump handles them.
That man, Michael LaRosa, appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” to say that Trump understands something about the media that Democrats do not.
Host Laura Ingraham asked about the strategy behind Biden’s nomination. She said that the Biden campaign controlled media coverage tightly and restricted journalists at events and even limited phone usage at small gatherings where Biden relied heavily on a teleprompter. Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer criticized Democrats for expecting the press to align with them and for not tolerating media scrutiny. LaRosa said he agreed and also said Democrats should emulate the way Trump engages with the press.
“Yeah, and the one event that Joe Biden has done since he left the White House, they also told people that they’re not allowed to record it. They didn’t want anybody to see it. There was no press allowed,” Fleischer said. “Here’s the problem that Democrats have with the press. They expect the press to work for them. They know that the press is ideologically aligned with them. They know that the press doesn’t like Donald Trump, and so they expect the press to fall in line.”
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Fleischer said Republicans expect tough media coverage and do not expect loyalty from the press, which contrasts with Democrats, who expect media compliance.
“Now, therefore, if there ever is an aberration to that pattern, they’d berate the press in a way like Republicans do not do. Republicans understand we’re gonna get a hard time from the press no matter what. That bar is low,” Fleischer said. “If we ever have a good day in the press, it’s because there was a low bar, and we jumped over it. And so we don’t have to worry about the press betraying us [the way] that Democrats do. And on those rare occasions when the press actually holds an account, they can’t stand it because they think the press is their employee.”
The former Biden aide agreed and said Democrats need to change the way they approach media relations.
“I would just somewhat agree with him because I think what President Trump does is sort of what I would advise every Democrat to do, but it reflects a problem in our party. This culture of treating the press as a hazard instead of an opportunity,” Larosa said. “Trump doesn’t miss the opportunity to speak to a microphone. He engages, and he’s proactive. It’s the opposite with Democrats. And we have to get over that because voters crave authenticity. You can’t be authentic, or you can’t be perceived as authentic if you are never in unscripted environments.”
Biden avoided interacting with the media and did not hold the traditional press conference in 2023. Just like Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris also avoided interacting with the press.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox News)
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