Trump interacted with press more in first 100 days than last 6 presidents: report

The study, led by Director Martha Joynt Kumar, found that Trump participated in 129 interviews or press conferences between January and April, an average of nearly two media interactions per workday. This pace far exceeds his first term, when he conducted 89 media events during the same timeframe.

Kumar noted that only former President Bill Clinton came close in recent history, being the only president to have over 100 press interactions in his first 100 days.

A large amount of Trump’s visibility with the press has been his frequent question-and-answer sessions with reporters in the Oval Office. The president has held 40 such Q&A sessions.

“With regular coverage by cable networks, particularly Fox News and C-SPAN, Trump used the setting to show what decisions he was making and explained the reasons he took action,” Kumar stated in the report.

In the first 100 days, Trump gave 26 interviews, with 16 of those going to conservative outlets or podcasters.

After taking office, the Trump administration has moved to broaden media access to the White House, including nontraditional platforms. Back in February, the White House announced it would be choosing which media outlets would be part of a poll of reporters that cover events, something that was previously done by the White House Correspondents Association.

By comparison, former President Joe Biden held 87 press interactions in his first 100 days. President Ronald Reagan held just 23, although he was recovering from a failed assassination attempt during that timeframe.