Washington (CNN) The only thing worse than the near extinction of press briefings in the Trump White House might be actually having a briefing. Even from the once-dignified surroundings of the White House Briefing Room, the President is willing to send out his subordinates to obfuscate and stir up the outrage that seems to be his natural political habitat. Sanders is far from the first White House press secretary to take political swipes from the podium -- Ari Fleischer and Robert Gibbs in recent years were particularly astute partisan tacticians for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, respectively. White House press secretaries are public servants and are paid by taxpayers. There is little such sense in this administration -- partly because briefings have become so rare -- and because this White House seems to scoff at the belief it should even pretend it is opening up for scrutiny.

Source: CNN March 12, 2019 05:15 UTC