The president appeared in the White House Briefing Room late Thursday with officials of the National Border Patrol Council to urge Congress to enact funding for a border wall.
The event was somewhat historic — it was President Donald Trump’s first appearance at the storied podium beneath the presidential seal in the Briefing Room.
But to the surprise of television viewers and the dismay of correspondents covering the event, neither the president nor Press Secretary Sarah Sanders took any questions from the press — who had been given notice of roughly five minutes to be at the event.
On Friday, White House correspondents, former presidential staffers, and viewers of the event a day earlier were still talking about how unusual the Thursday appearance was.
“It’s not a briefing if they don’t take questions,” tweeted White House correspondent Zeke Miller of the Associated Press.
Ari Fleischer, press secretary to President George W. Bush from 2001-03, agreed that using the White House Briefing Room to make announcements and then not take questions was unprecedented.
“In the Rose Garden and other venues, yes,” Fleischer told Newsmax, referring to presidential announcements without taking questions, “But in the Briefing Room, no.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.