Trump presser takes questions exclusively from conservative media

President Trump called on two reporters from conservative news outlets at his press conference Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, continuing a pattern of mostly selecting questioners from the right.

Townhall and the Christian Broadcasting Network received questions on Wednesday.

At a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, the Daily Caller and Sinclair Broadcasting asked questions.

{mosads}The New York Post and Fox Business Network asked questions during Trump’s joint press conference Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. And Trump called on Reuters and Fox News at a joint presser with British Prime Minister Theresa May last month. 

With news swirling around national security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation and calls between Trump campaign officials and Russia last fall, Trump received questions Wednesday about whether allies could hamper the path forward on fixing the Iran nuclear deal. He was also asked about the path to peace in the Middle East. 

Those questions would seem appropriate in the context of the meeting with Netanyahu, but members of the media criticized the White House publicly for attempting to dodge questions about Russia and Flynn.

“The fix is in,” CNN’s Jim Acosta said on air minutes after the press conference ended.

“It would be nice if the conservative outlets that the president is calling on would ask him tough questions,” said CNN’s John King.

“They would actually, instead of trying to curry favor with this president, they might do him a favor by letting him answer these questions because until he answers this questions, the story isn’t going away.”

CNN has had a particularly tempestuous relationship with Trump, who has referred to the network as “fake news.”

Acosta sought to ask a question to Trump about Russia at the end of the press conference, but Trump ignored it.

At joint press conferences with foreign leaders, the president and his counterpart each pick an equal number of questioners.

At all of Trump’s events, he has selected two members of the media for questions. Each foreign leader has also picked two from their home country’s media.