Once again, the grand maestro of media sparring took the stage, leaving reporters in a whirl with his signature style of a little teasing and a lot of humor. It was another one of those classic Trump moments where the press found themselves on the receiving end of some light-hearted, yet pointed, banter. As the former president scanned a room hosting a carefully spaced media presence due to lingering concerns about social distancing, he couldn’t resist addressing the elephant in the room—or rather, the empty seats that dotted it.
With a touch of the dramatics, Trump gestured towards the vacant spaces, making sure everyone noticed that the crowd wasn’t quite what it used to be. He lamented, not without a hint of sarcasm, about how the media folks seemed to have grown a tad angrier over time, imagining what these gatherings used to look like. Back in the day, reporters were tightly packed, eager for any scoop, and perhaps just as keen to out-glare each other. But these days, they appeared somewhat subdued, with many left to wait outside, itching for a chance to take one of those coveted seats.
Trump played the situation like a seasoned showman, poking fun at the reporters’ predicament while slyly questioning whether the era of crowded press briefings would ever return. He pondered if this was a permanent shift or just a temporary scene brought on by precautious nods to respiratory health. He mused about the age-old unpopularity he apparently luxuriated in and how it might now play out in this strange new world of cautious elbow room.
This little quip of his could hardly have gone unnoticed, especially by the media he so fondly criticized for their less-than-favorable coverage. It was as if he was holding up a comical mirror to the often adversarial dyad between him and the press. The subtle razz also doubled as a cheeky reminder of the fact that even amidst the grumbling press cogs, there was always a certain showmanship in play.
In humoring the notion that “we do a little trolling here and there,” Trump laid bare a broader truth about how both leaders and the media they meet are adapting to new norms. Whether or not those seats fill back up soon with hungry reporters, one thing was for sure: Trump still had the unparalleled knack for turning a simple press arrangement into a spectacle, forever the performer on his own stage.
