Likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton called into MSNBC and CNN on Tuesday, conducting phone interviews on television after her surrogate and Super PAC operator David Brock’s publication, Media Matters, called for television networks to stop conducting phone interviews because presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump was getting too much air time.
After completing a study in March, Media Matters, which was founded by Brock who also runs Clinton’s Super PAC “Correct the Record,” reported that Trump conducted 39 interviews in March over the telephone with cable news outlets.
“Media Matters has launched a petition asking news networks to end their practice of conducting phone interviews with Trump,” the outlet noted in April.
Roughly two months later, Clinton is now phoning in for interviews just as the real estate mogul has been doing throughout the primary election.
Clinton called two cable networks on Tuesday where she criticized Trump, vowed to hold a press conference in the futur, and claimed that she’s done 300 interviews this year.
Media outlets jumped on the fact that Clinton, who rarely conducts interviews with the press in comparison to her competition, appears to be copying Trump’s interview style. The Washington Post reports:
Barring an epic collapse in the final stages of her primary contest against Bernie Sanders, she is headed for a general election showdown with Donald Trump, who seems to love phoning in to TV news programs almost as much as he loves tweeting. Clinton rarely calls in. In fact, she does far fewer TV interviews than Trump, period. But she did two TV interviews by phone in a single afternoon on Thursday, suggesting she might try to beat Trump at his own game — or, at least, not be left on the sidelines.
Clinton, who used a ropeline to protect her from the media last year and also went 88 days without taking any questions from the press, said that she’s done 300 interviews in 2016.
“I have done nearly 300 interviews just in 2016,” Clinton told CNN’s Jake Tapper during her call-in.
She also said she’ll hold a press conference soon.
“Oh, I’m sure we will,” Clinton suggested. “I believe that we do and we should answer questions. Of course I’m going to in many, many different kinds of settings.”
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