Trump likens his coronavirus briefings to campaign rallies and says he attacks reporters to keep people engaged

• President Donald Trump compared the White House coronavirus press briefings to his campaign rallies and said he needed a way to circumvent the media while rallies are prohibited during the pandemic.
• The president said both rallies and briefings are effective ways to "get around the fake news" and deliver his message directly to Americans. And he said he likes sparring with reporters to keep viewers engaged.
• "A lot of people love when the press hits me, you know, when I go at it with the press — they like it," he told The New York Post during an Oval Office interview on Monday.
• The president said the White House will continue to hold coronavirus briefings, but they'll only occur about once a week and will be hosted by his new press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump compared the White House coronavirus press briefings to his campaign rallies and said he needed a way to circumvent the media while rallies are prohibited during the pandemic.

"So, which is more important, the rally or the press conferences?" Trump asked reporters from The New York Post during an Oval Office interview on Monday.

The president concluded that "they both work" to "get around the fake news" and deliver his message directly to Americans. The former reality TV star also said he likes sparring with members of the press during the briefings in order to keep things interesting and viewers engaged.

"I was told that some people didn't like the combative attitude so much. And I can a little bit understand that. But I would say from the standpoint of watching it and wanting to watch, that would be more interesting than having boring questions asked," Trump told The Post. "A lot of people love when the press hits me, you know, when I go at it with the press — they like it."

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at reporters who've asked him both tough and straightforward questions during recent briefings. He called NBC News' Peter Alexander "a terrible reporter" for asking what message he has for Americans who were afraid of the virus' impact. In another instance, Trump accused CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang of having a "nasty tone."

The president said the White House will continue to hold coronavirus briefings, but they'll only occur about once a week and will be hosted by his new press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany.

"We'll probably do maybe one a week, sometimes two depending on the news, but Kayleigh's going to be able to do them," he said. "We'll do them. We get a lot of people watching, and it's the way that you get around fake news. In other words, I have a much bigger audience than anybody's ever had."

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