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Year: 2025

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

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

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought a surge in media access following the Biden administration, with hundreds of direct exchanges between a press corps he frequently blasts as “fake news” and a president who rarely ducks a question, according to exclusive data on his first year back in office. Trump has participated in at least 433 open press events that stretched from official remarks to impromptu gaggles outside of Air Force One to press conferences where 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 answering a shouted question while greeting a foreign leader at the White House.  “President Trump is the most transparent and accessible president in American history,” White House spokeswoman Elizabeth Huston told Fox News Digital. “President Trump takes unrestricted questions from the legacy media and posts directly from his Truth Social account on the most important issues facing our nation every single day. The American people have never had a more direct and authentic relationship with a president of the United States than they have with President Trump.” DEMS, MEDIA CREDIBILITY IN SHAMBLES AS PRESS FIXATES ON TRUMP MRI AFTER YEARS DOWNPLAYING BIDEN HEALTH ISSUES By contrast, former President Joe Biden’s first year in office was mired in frustration that the media was shut out, including when he delayed holding his first press conference as president for more than two months into his term. In fact, Biden’s two-month stretch of avoiding a news conference was the longest in a century, since President Calvin Coolidge, known as “Silent Cal,” according to The Washington Post. 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 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. BIDEN’S ‘BIG BOY’ NATO NEWS CONFERENCE CARRIES HIGH STAKES AS FIRST PRESSER 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 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. KAROLINE LEAVITT SCOLDS NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER FOR ‘UNEQUIVOCALLY FALSE’ STORY ON TRUMP’S ENERGY LEVELS 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. 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 press gaggles, 10 press conferences — including with foreign leaders — and 345 public events featuring his official remarks, such as executive order signings and speeches to federal agencies, though those frequently did not include interactions with the media.  Biden’s lack of access came to a head in March 2021 as reporters pressed the White House on why the president did not hold a press 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 took questions actually twice yesterday, which is an opportunity for the people covering the White House to ask him about whatever news is happening on any given day.” Many of Biden’s appearances in 2021, as the pandemic continued, were video messages or public events that did not include taking questions from the press. “Come on, press, you gotta go,” Biden staffers were heard telling the media when the 46th president would wrap up public remarks.  BIDEN STILL HASN’T HELD A NEWS CONFERENCE, 64 DAYS AND COUNTING Looking at his full term, Biden held 37 press conferences, 679 informal question-and-answer sessions and 151 interviews, according to the White House Transition Project, which tracks presidential transitions and media access. 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. “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

Minnesota lawmakers vow new crackdown after $1B fraud meltdown they say Walz let spiral

Minnesota lawmakers vow new crackdown after B fraud meltdown they say Walz let spiral

As investigations continue into widespread fraud across multiple government programs, Minnesota lawmakers and a former prosecutor on the case spoke to Fox News Digital about how to fix the roots of the crisis that lie in years of unchecked incompetence, political resistance to oversight, and a culture inside state government that discouraged whistleblowers from speaking out. “Republicans have proposed a number of common sense guardrails,” Republican state Sen. Julia Coleman told Fox News Digital. “I have a bill that mandates state employees to report fraud if they know of it to law enforcement, but Democrats have blocked us every step of the way.” Republican state Sen. Michael Kreun told Fox News Digital that Republicans will put forward measures to crack down on fraud during the next legislative session early next year. “There’s going to be a number of bills coming up here in the next legislative session to address fraud,” Kreun said. “The one that I’ve been working on this past year was a bill to establish a statewide office of inspector general, which would be an independent office not that wouldn’t direct directly answer to the governor, whose sole mission would be to root out fraud, investigate fraud, with all providers and recipients across all state agencies and to be overlooking the agencies themselves.” ‘HE HAD YEARS TO STOP THIS’: GOP LAWMAKERS BLAST WALZ OVER MASSIVE MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME Kreun blamed Walz for his legislation stalling in the Democrat-controlled House earlier this year, a sentiment echoed by state Rep. Patti Anderson, who wrote on X, “Speaker Demuth tried to get the OIG bill passed in the House but the House Dems killed it due to pressure from Governor Walz. We all know that’s true. Let’s hope House Dems finally see the light and we get it done next year.” Walz’s office directed Fox News Digital to a clip of Demuth saying in a press conference last week that Walz previously stated “he would sign it” if the bill got to his desk.  “So that’s one measure that we can take next year,” Kreun said. “There’s gonna be a whole host of other measures to put up those guardrails to make sure that it becomes a lot harder to commit fraud here in Minnesota.” Minneapolis has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks over a massive fraud scheme dating back to at least 2020 that permeated several departments and several nonprofits, ranging from childcare services, to COVID-19 relief, to autism care. It is believed by many to eventually eclipse $1 billion in wasted state and federal taxpayer funds.  The most prominent scandal, related to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future and representing the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud case, involves a scheme that prosecutors say exploited a federally funded children’s nutrition program administered by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, siphoning money meant to provide meals to low-income kids.  ELON MUSK ACCUSES ILHAN OMAR OF TREASON OVER SOMALIA COMMENTS IN VIRAL SOCIAL MEDIA POST “For this amount of fraud to take place in the state of Minnesota, a billion or more dollars of fraud to happen has to be apathy and incompetence,” GOP state Sen. Julia Coleman told Fox News Digital.  “Years ago, before this ever hit the national media stage, I sat on an education committee trying to get to the bottom of how the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal happened. Now, this was years ago. There have been no additional guardrails in place, and in fact, fraud has been allowed to be more rampant than ever. It’s a mix of apathy and incompetence. Republicans have proposed a number of common sense guardrails. I have a bill that mandates state employees to report fraud if they know of it to law enforcement, but Democrats have blocked us every step of the way.” GOP state Sen. Mark Koran told Fox News Digital that while legislation will help, ultimately, the oversight in Minnesota is done by the executive branch. “It’s not gonna change with this governor,” Koran said.  Fox News Digital also spoke to former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, who worked on the Feeding Our Future case, and asked him what changes need to be made to ensure this large-scale fraud doesn’t happen again.  “I think you need to look at all these big government programs where tons of money is going out, and especially the ones in which nonprofits or other organizations are just entrusted to be watchdogs themselves,” Teirab explained. “That’s just not a system that’s set up well. Those things need we need to have way more checks and balances, way more structure to make sure that that money’s going out to the right people and it’s actually being used in the way that it should be used, and then we need to give more teeth and more ability for auditors and inspector generals to actually say, hey, look, if someone is potentially committing fraud, that person, the money should be cut off from them in other aspects of other agencies.” Minnesota’s Legislature is on a razor’s edge. Democrats currently hold a one-seat majority in the state Senate, 34–33, but after the most recent elections the Minnesota House is now split 67–67, with a power-sharing agreement in place between the two parties. That means even a small handful of defections or cross-party votes could decide whether tougher anti-fraud measures advance or stall. “Ultimately, we need to figure out the depth of this problem, get it taken care of once and for all, get the right people in place,” Kreun told Fox News Digital. “A change in the administration would go a long way towards helping that, and then rebuilding that trust with proper safeguards and people that are looking out for the taxpayer and make sure that they’re not getting ripped off.”

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Thursday’s big Senate votes on healthcare

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Thursday’s big Senate votes on healthcare

Today is the pivotal day for the Senate on healthcare. The Senate takes test votes on competing Democratic and Republican proposals to address astronomical healthcare premium spikes at the end of the year. But it’s about the math. Both need 60 yeas. Neither will pass. Everything starts around 11:30 a.m. ET. The Senate votes first on a GOP plan. It does not renew the expiring Obamacare subsidies. It simply allows people to use health savings accounts (HSAs) to shop for coverage. Republicans believe this will dramatically bring down healthcare costs. MODERATE REPUBLICANS STAGE OBAMACARE REBELLION AS HEALTH COST FRUSTRATIONS ERUPT IN HOUSE The Senate then pivots to the Democratic plan. It renews the expiring Obamacare subsidies for three years without reforms. Today’s votes are part of a demand by a coalition of Democratic senators who helped end the government shutdown. They requested a vote (not necessarily a fix) on healthcare before the end of the year. It’s possible there could be other votes related to healthcare as well today. COLLINS, MORENO UNVEIL OBAMACARE PLAN AS REPUBLICANS SEARCH FOR SOLUTION TO EXPIRING SUBSIDIES So what happens if both votes fail? It’s possible that could spark the Senate to get serious about addressing the spiking subsidies. They’ve done their posturing and have two weeks until Christmas. Lawmakers often accomplish the most legislatively when they face a deadline — especially before the holidays. It’s also possible Congress does nothing and the premiums go up on Jan. 1. This is a deep impasse and a hard one to resolve quickly. That said, many lawmakers — especially Republicans — are leery of leaving town for the holidays without addressing this issue. Republicans know they face a particular vulnerability here before the midterms. Especially since “affordability” is the buzzword of the day. That could make lawmakers buckle down over the next two weeks — especially after today’s plans fail.

Trump’s Ukraine deadline sparks rift on Capitol Hill amid stalled peace talks

Trump’s Ukraine deadline sparks rift on Capitol Hill amid stalled peace talks

Lawmakers gave mixed reactions to the timeline that President Donald Trump laid out for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept a peace plan. The new timeline, first reported by the Financial Times, gives Ukraine just “days” to consider the 20-point design floated by the administration after months of stalemate. According to the Times, the administration wants to have an answer by Christmas. ZELENSKYY APPEARS TO CHANGE HIS MIND ON HOLDING ELECTIONS AFTER TRUMP’S CRITICISM Where some lawmakers believe a sense of urgency is essential to drawing the parties to the table, others criticized the timeline as a tool that they believe is putting a disproportionate amount of pressure on Ukraine.  “I don’t think people should be given a deadline when it comes to defending their freedom and sovereignty,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Wednesday. Whether Ukraine will have to surrender some of its land has become the main sticking point amid broader conversations on the 20-point peace plan brokered by the United States. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said conceding territory is a line he won’t cross. On Wednesday, in a post to X, he said he would work with Ukraine’s allies to find an acceptable resolution to the conflict. “We continue to communicate with all our partners on a daily basis, virtually 24/7, to identify doable and realistic steps to bring the war to an end. Everything must be reliable and dignified for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “We are finalizing work on the 20 points of a fundamental document that could define the parameters for ending the war, and we expect to deliver this document to the United States in the near future following our joint work with President Trump’s team and partners in Europe.”  TRUMP PRESSURES ZELENSKYY FOR NEW ELECTIONS, WARNS UKRAINE OF ‘A POINT WHERE IT’S NOT A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE’ Like Van Hollen, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said he believes the timeline doesn’t help reach a resolution. But he also questioned how firm the timeline request would be. Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted Trump has made similar efforts to put pressure on peace talks in the past. “Over and over and over and over, President Trump’s attitude towards Russia and Ukraine has changed off again, on again, off again over the last 11 months,” Coons said. “It is long past time for President Trump to acknowledge that Russia is the aggressor, that Ukraine is a democracy, and that our vital national interest rests with defending Ukraine. He should not be giving timeline ultimatums,” Coons said. But not all lawmakers see the timeline as counterproductive. Republicans said it introduces a needed degree of pressure. “I don’t criticize the timelines, because I think that forces people to the table and to try to work it out,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., who is a longtime supporter of sending U.S. aid to Ukraine. “But I do think that we have to make sure that we’re clear on who the aggressor is and who the victim is and proceed accordingly,” Fitzpatrick added. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, declined to praise or condemn the timeline. But in a pragmatic sense, he believes it helps Ukraine come to grips with the ugly reality of war and what he sees as an unsustainable drain to the country’s military power. ZELENSKYY READY TO PRESENT NEW PEACE PROPOSALS TO US AND RUSSIA AFTER WORKING WITH EUROPEAN TALKS “I’m not trying to take any sides on this, other than the longer this goes on, the more devastating it is to Ukraine post-war,” Issa said. “If you look at this, like you look at a chessboard where you have 20 pawns and I have 10, and we’re trading them one for one. Time is not on the side of the one that has 10.”  “Time is [Zelenskyy’s] enemy, because every day that goes by that we’re at a standstill, he doesn’t become militarily weaker, but from a human asset [view], he’s becoming weaker. And you know, this is not a sustainable war because he can’t produce another generation of fighters to replace the ones that are being killed or maimed every day,” Issa said.  It’s unclear what the Trump administration would do if the conflict were to stretch past that window. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.