White House data shows Trump’s surge in press access and transparency

Exclusive: president Donald TrumpTrump’s return to the White House has led to a surge in media access in the wake of the Biden administration, with hundreds of face-to-face exchanges between a press corps he frequently criticizes as “fake news” and a president who rarely evades a question, according to exclusive data on his first year in office.

Trump had participated in at least 433 open press events that ranged from official statements to impromptu face masks outside Air Force One to news conferences in which the president interacted with the media, as of Monday. The data, compiled by the White House stenographer’s office and provided to Fox News Digital, does not include quick exchanges, such as Trump’s answer to a shouted question while welcoming a foreign leader to the White House.

“President Trump is the most transparent and accessible president in American history,” White House spokeswoman Elizabeth Houston told Fox News Digital. “President Trump takes unrestrained questions from legacy media and posts directly from his Truth Social account about the most important issues facing our nation every day. The American people have never had a more direct and authentic relationship with the President of the United States than they have with President Trump.”

Democrats and media credibility in disarray as press focuses on Trump’s MRI after years of downplaying Biden’s health issues

In contrast, former Pres Joe BidenHis first year in office was mired in frustration over media shutdowns, including when he delayed holding his first news conference as president by more than two months into his term. In fact, Biden’s two-month period of avoiding a press conference was the longest in a century, since President Calvin Coolidge, known as “Silent Cal,” According to the Washington Post.

President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has led to an increase in media access following the Biden administration. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The White House stenographer found that it had transcribed 2.4 million words of open press events with Trump as of Monday, the equivalent of 4.1 “War and Peace” books, 31.1 “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” books, or 22.2 “Art of the Deal” books, the White House said.

Specifically, Trump participated in 156 press splashes, 13 public rallies, 13 press conferences, 32 Marine One rallies, 30 rallies outside Air Force One, 41 rallies while on Air Force One, and three official press briefings, according to the data.

Those press splashes — the informal media presence where the president asks a range of questions during bilateral meetings, signing executive orders and roundtables — represent 128 of the 292 questions Trump has answered in town hall press briefings.

A handful of Trump’s open press events were marathons lasting more than an hour, including an October roundtable on Antifa that lasted 95 minutes and a series of long talks. Cabinet meetings.

Biden’s ‘big boy’ NATO news conference holds high stakes as first journalist since disastrous debate

Those meetings with Trump’s Cabinet chiefs included a 105-minute session in April, a 124-minute meeting in July, a 138-minute meeting in December, and in August, the longest televised Cabinet meeting in US history, lasting 197 minutes.

Trump is known to not hold back when interacting with the media, often calling out reporters who he believes are spreading “fake news” and biased content before moving on to the next question during his many events. His frequently fiery exchanges with reporters have gone viral, including when he told a reporter to “calm down, you pig” or in another exchange in November in which he called a reporter a “stupid person” when asked about the suspected killer of a U.S. National Guard member. Sarah Beckstrom.

Carolyn Leavitt rebukes a New York Times reporter for an “unequivocally false” report on Trump’s energy levels

Trump’s love of public speaking and back-and-forth messaging alarmed White House stenographers shortly after his inauguration in January, as they mooted hiring additional staff to keep up the pace much faster than under the more subdued Biden administration.

Considering his full term, President Joe Biden has held 37 press conferences, 679 informal question-and-answer sessions, and 151 interviews. (Marcus Schreiber/Associated Press)

Four years ago, as 2021 came to a close, the Associated Press reported that Biden held fewer news conferences than any of his five immediate predecessors, as well as fewer media interviews than any recent president. Fox News found that Biden participated in 53 news conferences, 10 briefings — including with foreign leaders — and 345 public events featuring his official statements, such as signing executive orders and speeches before federal agencies, though those did not often include interactions with the media.

Biden’s inaccessibility came to a head in March 2021 when reporters pressed the White House on why the president had not held a news conference for weeks since his inauguration.

“The president takes questions several times a week,” then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki told the media when pressed about the lack of press access to the president in March 2021. “He actually took questions twice yesterday, and it’s an opportunity for people who cover the White House to ask him about any news that’s happening on any given day.”

Many of Biden’s appearances in 2021, as the pandemic continues, were video messages or public events that did not involve taking questions from the press.

“Come on, press, you have to go.” Biden staff They are heard telling the media as the 46th President concludes his public remarks.

Biden still hasn’t held a press conference, in 64 days and counting

Considering his full term, Biden held 37 press conferences, 679 informal question-and-answer sessions, and 151 interviews, according to the report. The White House The Transition Project, which tracks presidential transitions and media access.

President Donald Trump averaged media exchanges per business day in the first 100 days of his second administration. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

The White House Transition Project also calculates the number of times presidents interact with the press on a daily basis.

By this measure, Trump averaged 1.9 media interactions per workday in the first 100 days of his second administration, compared to 1.3 under Biden, 1.1 under former President Barack Obama, and 1.1 under former President George W. Bush per workday. During Trump’s first term, his first 100 days in office averaged 1.3 media interactions per business day.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“At an average of 1.9 press sessions per day, President Trump in 2025 leads the last presidential pack answering reporters’ inquiries. Not only did President Trump conduct more press exchanges than his predecessors during his first 100 days, but his regularly televised question-and-answer sessions with reporters captured the public’s attention,” according to the White House Transition Project.