September 08, 2016, 12:04 pm
Five takeaways from Clinton’s press conference
By Jonathan Easley and Jonathan Swan
Hillary Clinton held her first formal press conference in nearly 10 months on Thursday, taking six questions over 15 minutes from the tarmac of an airport in White Plains, N.Y.
Here are five takeaways from the event.
Clinton is coming out of hiding
The press conference is just the latest sign of a more upfront Clinton on display since Labor Day, the traditional starting point for the fall campaign season.
Critics and members of the media alike have ripped Clinton's approach to the press. Before Thursday, it had been 278 days since the Democratic presidential nominee last held a formal press conference, a statistic Republicans have been glad to highlight.
Before the press event, Clinton had already invited reporters on to her plane to travel with her. On Monday, she walked to the back of the plane to take questions on camera.
But she can be awkward on camera, something that couldn’t be ignored in her dealings with reporters on the plane or at Thursday’s press conference. Her attempts at humor don’t always land well, nor do her statements of admiration for some reporters.
At the same time, getting Clinton in front of the cameras could help her this fall. especially with Republicans arguing she is trying to coast to the presidency by running out the clock.
Clinton spent almost all of August off the campaign trail at swanky fundraisers or holed up with briefing materials in preparation for this month’s debate.
The lack of a press conference was becoming a distraction, angering the media and appearing troublesome to some Democrats as Clinton’s favorability numbers plunged in her absence and polls of the presidential race tightened significantly.
Thursday’s press conference was another sign that the Clinton team is making a deliberate attempt to rework its relationship with the media.
more
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/294991-five-takeaways-from-clintons-press-conference
