A Hillary Clinton advisor rebutted criticism that the likely Democratic nominee on Monday for being inaccessible to the media by saying reporters just don’t ask the right questions.
Senior strategist and pollster Joel Benenson, appearing on CNN’s New Day Monday, said that he was a former reporter and complaining about lack of accessibility just comes with the territory. "I can tell you that I've never been in a press corps or heard a press corps that didn't complain they weren't getting more of the candidate," he said.
"You know, what the voters want to hear is hear from the candidate directly. They love town halls. They love when they're out there meeting with voters, and they hear real people asking questions. Books have been written about the kinds of questions, by the way, that voters ask, as opposed to what reporters ask. A guy named James Fallows wrote one called, 'Breaking The News' many years ago, and what they looked at was that voters ask questions that are about their lives, and reporters ask questions that are all about the process, and what voters want to hear is the questions that are going to affect them, which candidate is going to do more to make a difference in their lives, because that's what they're voting on."
“What voters want to hear is the questions that are going to affect them, which candidate is going to do more to make a difference in their lives, because that's what they're voting on,” he added.
Benenson’s comments Monday follow Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon’s appearance on CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday where he said Clinton often informally talks to traveling reporters.
“Calling something an availability vs. a press conference oftentimes is just defined by whether you have a banner behind you or a podium in front of you,” Fallon said. “But the reality bottom line is that she's answering questions from the reporters that are covering her day to day."
Reporters covering Clinton didn’t feel quite the same way.
Dan Merica, a producer for CNN, wrote a story in response called "Hillary Clinton not as accessible to media as her campaign says," where he broke down the amount of time Clinton spent with reporters.
“Clinton, however, is far less accessible than any other candidate still in the presidential race and has not once taken questions for 15 to 20 minutes in 2016,” Merica wrote. “Clinton has had a total of nine "gaggles" — or informal question and answer sessions with reporters — in 2016.”
Donald Trump (notorious for his accessibility to media, though at times he can be extremely hostile) couldn’t resist calling Clinton out for her lack of press conferences Monday.
