Wow, what does the White House press correspondent do when the president has no press conferences? That's a pretty good question. Um, the president is now at well into record territory for being a new president without having a press conference. Yeah, I still got the Uh, the press brief is sure
there in the in the basement room. But one of our favorite journalists and one of our favorite people in the industry, Deborah J. Saunders, who have for recently has been the Las Vegas Review Journals White House correspondent for going on like five years. I guess uh is hanging up for spurs. It's a curious accessory for a woman reporter to wear spurs. But Debora J. Joins us. Now, Hi, Debora, how are you fine? How are you doing? We're good. You know, we've been meaning to chat with you, and
it's been too long. But I was kind of surprised to hear that you're you're calling it good. You're gonna stop being the White House correspondent? What gives? What's up? It's a burnout job. I mean, there are not a lot of people in their sixties who cover the White House, right and four years is a really long time. So, uh, I just thought I'd try. I thought I'd try to
cover Joe Biden. People said it would be so much easier, but you know that I still wasn't I still wasn't done from the burnout of covering Trump, and I just wasn't enjoying it. Well, that's perfectly good reason, and that that can happen with any job. Yeah. So, um, but you know, I mean, it's it's a it's a there's no easy president to follow. Let me just say that. So, well, there's less chaos involved with covering Joe Biden. It's still he's still a president. He's still making a lot of
policy changes, He's doing a lot of things. He's got a new team, breaking in a new uh team was not high on my list. So well, so you're the perfect person to ask this. So because I haven't been real concerned about the fact that Joe Biden hasn't had a press conference yet, because you know, just because that's the way presidents did it for a long time doesn't mean it will continue forever. Um. Times have changed. Trump didn't have press conferences, but he'd stand there outside the
airplane and answer questions for two hours. Um, do do you think this is a big deal or or not. Well, I think it's it's it speaks to the fact that everyone who watches this White House thinks that they're trying to keep Joe Biden away from the press as much as possible, because he's old, because he doesn't seem to be really as sharp as he could see, because he
stumbles on his words, because he he just is. He's not exuberant, and and it seems pretty clear to me that they've figured out that it's just better to limit
his exposure. They'll do a press conference, let's say after sixty they said they'll do him this month, right, and then they'll extend it out longer, and they'll extend it out longer again because he just, uh, there is And as you were called, during the campaign, he would do these press briefings and he would just call on four or five people his staff told him who to call on. It was just done in a way that show that they really want to micromanage every uh exchange that they
have with the press. And that's just not you know, that's totally the opposite of Donald Trump, where you never knew when he was going to talk to the press, and at times he would talk forever Cardi B managed to wind an interview with the president. Are you quitting just because you're jealous you wish you were a journalist? As Cardi B that's true. She has had more access to Joe Biden than I have slightly more serious question, what do you think of Jen Saki is a White
House press secretary? So, um, when when you all reached out to me, you wanted to know what, how are they different? And uh, Donald Trump has high turnover. He went through four press secretaries in four years, and none of the people who are as press secretary. Could you imagine being a press secretary for any other president? Jen Psaki, you could imagine working for a lot of Democrats. And this is sort of you know, this is this is
a much more organizational White House. Uh. And so she she's obviously she feels her job is to manage information in a way that is positive to Joe Biden, and that's what she does well. So that gets to my the ultimate question about whether this matters or not. So Joe Biden is not having press conferences because it's so old and they're afraid you'll have an old moment. I get that completely, But in terms of the nation getting information it needs from the head of the executive branch?
Are are we just getting it through Jen Saki? And so everything is fine in terms of finding out what we need to know. I mean, I'm sure that that's the way they would argue with and there's some truth to that. I mean, if you want to know what the policies are going to be now. Famously, one time, um the president talking about how he wanted to have schools that co operational, and then she said that then that could mean you know, the most schools being open one day a week, and then Joe Biden had to
take that back. Uh So you're going to see things like that happening. But I think, you know, policies can come out other ways of Kamala Harris is out there talking a lot, and I think that you're just going to see. Uh I think I think they've decided that. Uh Joe Biden is just somebody who comes across the best the more he's managed and choreographed, and that's what they're gonna do. And by the way, the way he appears in public doesn't necessarily mean that he's not behind
the scenes, you know, leading everything. Uh So, so I mean, I I know a lot of people are highly skeptical about him, but you know, it could be that. I remember, um, he came to the San Francisco Chronical when I worked there. It was two thousand seven, and the whole hour he kept saying a run when he met a rock. He's always had these little language which is where he says things wrong. Two thousand seven is fourteen years ago. That's right, he's got he has issues and how we communicates, and
he always has. And Uh. One thing I thought about getting older is often things that are issues for you become bigger issues as you age. So I think that they're you know, they figured out that there they just have they don't They don't have to explain as much the less they have them out there doing that, so they'll do it at some point. The question really won't be when does he do the press conference? The question
is how many people does he call them? Deborah Jay Sanders at Las Vegas Review Journal on the line, you know, to Jack's question, which I think is a really good question, I think it does matter because your press secretary is a shameless spinmeister, says all sorts of stuff, or I'll have to get back to your and and then then it's it's a bull crap fest. Whereas the president, if the president answers the question, makes a statement. You know,
that's the president speaking. It's like if I sent my is to ask my wife why she's mad at me. It's just different. That's not a bad idea. I might start doing that. Yeah, anyway, so devil, we just we just have another minute or so. Uh, you have any idea what you're gonna do now? Sports pages, classified ads still exist. I'm really just trying to catch up on my sleep. Um, I just haven't slept well in four years. So I'm just trying to relax and then I'll come
back and look at things. But um, I just really get a point where I just needed to take a break. Debor J. Saunder is one of the good ones. It's a shame to see you hanging up your pen there your typewriter, keyboard, but it's great to talk to you. We wish you well, thank you, thank you. So. I've always loved doing the show, and I hear from people all the time who love you, know, love your show so much, and I get why, thank you. So you hang around dumb people that's nice, that's great. I can't.
I can't. Well, we'll talk best wishes. I'm kidding. I would not insult the audience like that. That would be career suicide to do that. I would not do that. We're talking on Friday about Matt Tybee, Rolling Stone and sub Stack, liberal journalist who says the journalists now are
doing suff such a softball treatment of President Biden. I mean just he compared it to the Soviet Union, where all the headlines are just so ridiculous, and I just you know, as we get more of our old school journalists headed out and more young people headed in, I think we're gonna get more of that not less yummy, yummy boot licking, and get