Trump torches Biden’s shutout press record — opens floodgates of media access in first year back

President Donald Trump held significantly more press conferences and media interactions than former President Joe Biden during their respective first years.

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

The White House Stenographer's Office found that it transcribed 2.4 million words from open press events with Trump as of Monday, which is the equivalent to 4.1 "War and Peace" books, 31.1 "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" books, or 22.2 "The Art of the Deal" books, the White House said. 

Specifically, Trump participated in 156 press sprays, 13 general gaggles, 13 press conferences, 32 Marine One gaggles, 30 gaggles outside Air Force One, 41 gaggles while on the presidential plane and three formal press briefings, according to the data.

Those press sprays — informal media availabilities where the president fields a handful of questions during bilateral meetings, executive order signings and roundtables — accounted for 128 questions of the 292 questions Trump answered in open press settings.

A handful of Trump's open press events have been marathons that lasted well over an hour, including an October roundtable on Antifa that ran 95 minutes and a series of lengthy Cabinet meetings.

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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 U.S. history at 197 minutes.

Trump is known for not holding back when interacting with the media, frequently calling out reporters he believes print "fake news" and biased content before rolling to the next question during his numerous events. His fiery exchanges with reporters have frequently gone viral, including when he told one reporter "quiet, piggy" or another exchange in November where he called a reporter a "stupid person" when asked about the suspected murderer of U.S. National Guard member Spc. Sarah Beckstrom.

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Trump's love of public speaking and back-and-forth with reporters set White House stenographers on edge shortly after his inauguration in January, as they floated hiring additional staff to keep up with a pace far faster than under the quieter Biden administration.

President Donald Trump averaged 1.9 media exchanges per workday in his first 100 days of his second administration.  (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press )

The White House Transition Project also tallies how often presidents engage with the press on a daily basis.

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

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"With an Average of 1.9 Press Sessions a Day, President Trump in 2025 Leads the Recent Presidential Pack Answering Reporters’ Queries. Not only did President Trump have more press interchanges than his predecessors during his first hundred days, but his regularly televised question-and-answer sessions with reporters caught the public’s attention," the White House Transition Project. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-torches-bidens-shut-out-press-record-opens-floodgates-media-access-first-year-back