Trump vs. Media: President May Limit Press Briefings, Reports Say

President Donald Trump has been in discussion to bring in some drastic changes to his press briefings schedule, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

According to the report, some of Trump’s advisers, including Fox News host Sean Hannity, have urged the president to limit the unrestrictive barrage of questions by journalists, which are often embarrassing.

Read: Press Freedom Threatened Under Trump Administration, This Time In Capitol Hall

The president's advisers have been working for months to improve his media relations after Trump was criticized for boycotting the press and often alleging them of “fake news.” Trump often ends up indulging with the media too personally and takes matters into his own hands with his Twitter storm, often bypassing his adviser’s suggestion.

The report suggests that Trump will limit his briefings to once a week and also ask reporters to submit written questions. It is not unknown that Trump has particularly been irked by CNN and has expressed his dissatisfaction toward the network on several occasions.

Trump has also often criticized the media and has referred to networks or articles as “fake news,” on various accounts.

The president has in the past also floated canceling all future press briefings in the name of accuracy.

The White House barred several news organizations from an off-camera press briefing in February. Outlets whose requests for entry were denied included the Guardian, the New York Times, Politico, CNN, BuzzFeed, the BBC, the Daily Mail among others. Conservative publications such as Breitbart News, the One America News Network and the Washington Times were allowed into the meeting, as well as TV networks such as CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC. The Associated Press and Time were invited but they chose to boycott the briefing.

“Donald Trump might as well get behind the podium himself, as the press coverage is the part of his presidency he cares the most deeply about,” Tim Miller, who was communications director for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign, said according to the Times report. “You can’t be a credible press secretary when your boss makes you tell preposterous lies. You can’t be a credible press secretary when you don’t know what your boss thinks on key issues because he changes his mind depending on the last person he talked to,” Miller added.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer did not deny reports he might be leaving his post as part of a reshuffle of the West Wing communications staff. "I'm right here," Spicer said during Tuesday's briefing adding, "You can keep taking your selfies."

Read: Will Sean Spicer Have A New White House Role? Press Secretary Looking For His Replacement, Reports Say

Spicer’s first on-camera briefing in eight days seemed like an unusually long gap, which sparked rumors the press office might undergo a shakeup that would result in his role changing.

"Look, it's no secret we've had a couple vacancies, including our communications director, he's been gone for a while,” Spicer said.

“We've been meeting with potential people that may be of service to this administration. I don't think that should come as any surprise but we're always looking for ways to do a better job of articulating the president's message and his agenda," he aded.