President Donald Trump is being regularly cold-called by journalists
Trump is happily fielding personal calls from the press (Shealah Craighead/Official White House Photo)
President Donald Trump’s personal mobile is being regularly cold-called by journalists representing some of the world’s major news outlets, according to The Atlantic, which confessed it is among the outlets with a direct line to the leader of the free world.
The Atlantic reports that since the US attacks on Iran a fortnight ago, Trump has “answered more than three dozen phone calls from journalists representing at least a dozen outlets”.
These outlets include The Atlantic, plus CBS News, CNN, ABC News, The Daily Telegraph (UK), Fox News, The New York Times, The Times of Israel, The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, Axios, Israel’s Channel 14, MS Now (formerly MSNBC), Politico, and the New York Post.
Two unnamed administration officials say the White House received reports in recent weeks that Trump’s number has been made available for sale, as well as being traded among Washington journalists, with Substack authors reportedly now among those vying for the President’s phone time.
“It is literally call, after reporter call,” one said. “Ten reporters will call in a matter of two hours,” the second official told the publication.”
According to the officials, Trump welcomes the calls, much to the annoyance of top White House communications experts. “You are talking to someone on the fly, who is yip-yapping or chitchatting.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly didn’t expressly deny the story in a statement to The Atlantic. “President Trump is the most transparent and accessible president in history. The press can’t get enough of Trump, and they know it.”
The Atlantic story, authored by Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker, confessed to the publication’s “own complicity” in the matter.
“We first called the president while reporting our June Atlantic cover story on Trump’s return to power. He had agreed to an interview with us, then abruptly canceled via an angry Truth Social post.
“So we called him, chatted for roughly 20 minutes, and then got invited into the Oval Office, after all, for a second, longer interview. We’ve since called him occasionally after major news breaks, like when he first struck Iran last summer, when he captured Venezuela’s leader, and when he more recently waged war with Iran.
“And, if we’re being honest, we will obviously call him again.”
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