White House aides try disappearing act amid impeachment talk

y’ve skipped high-profile Sunday TV shows and avoided driveway chat sessions with reporters. Few who are typically er to defend president have appeared at all on television so far this month. White House officials close to President Donald Trump are pulling off a disappearing act, remaining largely absent from public view — in middle of storm over impeachment.

“We invited White House on to answer questions on show this morning,” CNN’s Jake Tapper explained to his viewers on Sunday’s “State of Union.” ″y did t offer a guest.”

White House strategy

It’s a well-worn strategy in Trump White House: Senior officials conveniently man to be elsewhere when major controversies engulf building. frequent absences of Jared Kushner, president’s son-in-law and senior viser, and presidential daughter Ivanka Trump during moments of consequence have long been a running joke among ir detractors. ir detours included a trip to Florida during partial government shutdown. Plenty of ors have jumped town during tense moments. As Trump struggled with mounting Republican defections over his decision to declare a national emergency to pay for stalled border wall, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney wasn’t at Capitol cajoling his former colleagues or in West Wing making calls. Inste, he was in Las Vegas for an annual friend and family getaway.

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US President in rth Korea

More recently, embattled national security viser John Bolton scheduled a trip to Mongolia while Trump became first sitting U.S. president to set foot in rth Korea, a gesture that didn’t sit well with Bolton, who would leave ministration a few months later. Indeed, kwing “when to be out of town” was one of top nuggets of vice that Kevin Hassett, president’s former top ecomic viser, said he’d received from a predecessor and h to offer his successor. White House did t respond to questions about tactic Wednesday. But even when y’re in Washington, many of White House’s most visible officials have been staying out of public view, letting president’s indignant Twitter feed and his frequent commentary drive public conversation.

That includes White House spokesman Hogan Gidley, a frequent guest on Fox News shows and gaggles with reporters that often follow on White House driveway. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, an aggressive defender of president, has t me an appearance on driveway since a highly contentious Sept. 27 gaggle in which she berated reporters and dismissed a question about wher White House was organizing an impeachment war room.

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“I’m only person out here taking your questions,” Conway ted n. She did, however, appear at an event with first ly Melania Trump, speaking with teens and young ults about ir experiences with electronic cigarettes and vaping. Appearances have come inste from lower-profile staffers, including vice president’s chief of staff, Marc Short; acting director of Office of Manment and Budget, Russell Vought; and ecomic viser Larry Kudlow, who tried to stay out of controversy. He’s said repeatedly that questions about Ukraine and president’s efforts to dig up damaging information about former Vice President Joe Biden are way out of his lane. ding to vacuum is continued lack of White House briefings. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has yet to hold one.

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“It’s surprising that y’re t using many levers on most powerful communications platform in world, which is White House,” said Joe Lockhart, who served as press secretary during impeachment of President Bill Clinton. He said that White House is losing out on effective platforms to try to drive its mess.

“body is vouching for him or validating him and filling in blanks,” Lockhart said of Trump.

Many aides to president have grown reluctant to speak out on Trump’s behalf for fear president will n contrict m. Inste, y allow president to set day’s mess on his Twitter feed and vigorously defend himself. But one of reasons Clinton’s impeachment strategy was effective, Lockhart said, was that president almost never talked about impeachment drama. He relied on his lawyers, his communications staff and outside allies to make case for him.

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