When President-elect Donald Trump announced his nominee for attorney general on Friday, he introduced Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to the nation with a four-sentence quote delivered to the press corps via email. The president-elect was ensconced at Trump Tower in Manhattan. And over the weekend, as his nominee’s record of racially charged statements drew sharp criticism, Trump did not appear with Sessions or say anything more about him.
So it has gone for Trump, who spent the 12 days after being elected president mostly out of public view and rejecting, at least for now, some of the pre-inaugural rituals of Obama and other presidents.
A postelection news conference? Not for Trump.
A Veterans Day event to underscore the incoming administration’s commitment to wounded warriors? Not for Trump.
A visit to a deli or a convenience store, or just a step outside on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to take in the crisp fall air and greet people — the kinds of routine photo opportunities that Trump the candidate did to show he was in touch with everyday Americans? Not for the president-elect.
“Trump’s an anomaly of seeming to be hiding right in plain view and not wanting to interact with the press corps or the general public,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University. “Most presidents-elect are immersed in how other presidents did it, and Trump’s almost defiant in wanting to do it his way.”
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