Clinton aide: ‘No reluctance’ to hold news conferences

Hillary Clinton’s spokesman, Brian Fallon, said in an interview Sunday that the Democratic presidential front-runner often has media availabilities at the end of events, defending her against criticisms that she has not held a news conference in several months.

“There’s no reluctance,” he said on CNN.

{mosads}”At the end of the day, we will do an [availability] … where she informally comes out after an event has concluded, after she’s taken some photos and some selfies, and she will literally stand there for 15, 20 minutes and answer questions from her traveling press corps, including the embeds from the various networks.”

Fallon said a media availability and a press conference are often “just defined by whether you have a banner behind you or a podium in front of you.”

“But the reality, bottom line, is that she’s answering questions from the reporters that are covering her day to day.”

Clinton has come under fire for having gone more than 180 days without holding a news conference. Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump hit Clinton, saying the candidate “should be admonished for not having a press conference.”

Fallon said on CNN that the campaign knows Clinton needs to be “accessible and responsive to questions.”

“We’re going to continue to do that in a variety of formats.”

He added that Clinton will sometimes put an emphasis on local radio, local television and print interviews, as opposed to national media. 

“I think it needs to be a mix,” he said.