At Trump’s first presser as President Elect, he appeared on the defensive against journalists, the CIA, and Obamacare proponents, painting a picture about how his presidency will behave for the next four years.
The conference was a rarity for Trump, who hadn’t held a presser since sloppily avoiding the Khazir Khan controversy that plagued his campaign post DNC. For such a candidate who was a definite rule-breaker in terms of press timeframes, Trump was expected to pull the unexpected.
One such example was actively going against the standard of presidential cooperation, as Trump appeared to dodge mentions of the CIA after presumed and reported blackmail. Instead, he shifted onto issues of privacy during the modern age, talking about the security needed and how he’s responded.
Trump said, “You better be careful, or you’ll be watching yourself on nightly television.”
Trump also postponed some of his campaign closures, such as releasing his tax returns after they finished their audits. After being such a high-profile issue during the election, Trump appeared to write the controversy off, especially in the view of the American people.
“The only ones that care about my tax returns are the reporters.”
Lastly, Trump gave his word on the currently repealed Affordable Care Act, although he didn’t detail specifics of the replacement. However, he did provide a general sense of convenience, in the wake of the (as he put it) “imploding” service.
Following his address of these issues, Trump ended with a reference to his days as The Apprentice, when talking about handing over his businesses to his two sons.
“I hope at the end of eight years I’ll come back to my two sons and say, ‘you did a good job.’ If they do a bad job I’ll say, ‘you’re fired.’”