Times reporters Erica L. Green and Tyler Pager called President Trump on Tuesday evening to get his reaction as election results showed a Republican shellacking. They wanted his real-time thoughts on the outcome. Tyler Pager said, "We wanted to know if Trump was going to accept the results."
Two Times reporters were the first to get ahold of the president Tuesday evening, when a blue wave was crashing across the country.
President Trump gets on the phone with reporters regularly. He sometimes makes news, but a lot of those interviews are journalistically unremarkable. So how do we try to get the most out of Trump when we call him up? Our White House reporters Erica L. Green and Tyler Pager decided with their editors that it made sense to call the president on election night. They were the first of a number of reporters to talk to Trump as the Republican shellacking was underway. I was curious about the backstory of their call and what they hoped to get out of it.
Let's set the scene. Erica, you were on duty that night covering President Trump, so start us off.
ERICA GREEN: I was in our Washington office watching the results. When it started looking grim for Republicans, I packed up and ran to the White House just to capture the mood and be in place in case he decided to make a move. When we decided to call him, I left the press area of the White House, which is very cramped, noisy and where our competitors also work. I found a quiet spot outside a side entrance and plopped on the ground. Tyler said, "Ready," and it was off to the races.
Why bother to call Trump in the first place? He is talking and posting on social media all the time.
ERICA: It was worth trying to get his unvarnished, real-time reaction to the results as he absorbed them. And it would be more authentic and illuminating than what we would get on Truth Social.
TYLER PAGER: We've had many discussions about the usefulness of calling the president directly. We've done it sparingly. Here, we wanted to know if Trump was going to accept the results, given his history of casting doubt on election outcomes that don't go his way. That would be news.
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Is there such a thing as a successful interview with Trump? What does that look like?
ERICA: I learned from listening to my teammates who have masterfully interviewed him that the best strategy is to ask him straightforward, direct questions.
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