President-elect Donald Trump and the media haven't exactly had a love match so far. Ever since he began his bid to become the 45th President of the United States (and arguably much longer before that), Trump has repeatedly been at odds with what he likes to call the "dishonest" media. Which should make things interesting once he officially takes office on Jan. 20 and has to deal with the media on a regular basis. And so it begins; for those who have anxiously been waiting to find out when Trump will hold his first press conference, he has finally given us a date. I think I can safely promise you this; it won't be boring.
Historically speaking, Trump's first press conference (set for Jan. 11 in New York City) comes pretty late in the game. He won the presidential election on Nov. 8, and has been incredibly reticent about sharing information with the media. Other than his tweets, of course; Trump sure does love his tweeting. But it looks like he's finally going to allow the press a little face time with The Donald... maybe. As Kellyanne Conway told Anderson Cooper on Monday, a press conference is the "current plan." Meaning, one might assume, that this plan is subject to change.
This isn't the first time Trump has set up a news conference since he became President-elect. After breaking with tradition after he won the election on Nov. 8 by neglecting to hold a question and answer period with the media, he tweeted that he would be holding a "major news conference" in mid-December. And then postponed it.
This time around, if Trump does decide to follow through and hold a press conference, he will have loads of topics to choose from. Trump could talk about his recent refusal to acknowledge the findings of 17 separate United State intelligence agencies which concluded the Russians hacked the election. After finally meeting with intelligence officials to hear their reports (most of which he denied existing previous to the briefing), Trump continued to scoff at the findings that Russian involvement in hacking the email servers of the Democratic National Convention (as well as the alleged spread of fake news about former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton). While also claiming these alleged hacks were the fault of the DNC.
Trump will also have a chance to address his peculiar bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite the fact that Putin has been widely criticized by both Democrats and Republicans as a villainous bully.
Of course, there will be many other topics for Trump to discuss with the media other than Russia. His choices for his upcoming Administration, his family business affairs, his plans for the wall between the United States and Mexico, dismantling the Affordable Health Care Act, defunding Planned Parenthood, the length of his ties... I mean, let's face it. This press conference could last for about 16 hours.
If it happens at all, of course.
