WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer will serve as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's press secretary in the White House when he takes office next month, Trump announced on Thursday.

To round out his communications team, the president-elect appointed loyalists from his upstart presidential campaign. Hope Hicks, Trump's sole spokeswoman when he began what was considered a longshot candidacy in June 2015, will be director of strategic communications.

Jason Miller was appointed director of communications and Dan Scavino was named director of social media.

Spicer, 45, served as RNC spokesman during Trump's presidential campaign, alongside party chairman Reince Priebus, who stood by Trump amid furious opposition from establishment Republicans and was rewarded with the chief of staff position.

Acerbic and professional, Spicer, a Navy Reserve commander, has been openly critical of media coverage of Republican candidates and the president-elect, but insists the future U.S. leader has a high regard for press freedom.

"We understand and respect the role that the press plays in a democracy. It is healthy, it's important. But it's a two-way street," Spicer told Politico recently, before bashing the news outlet for what he said was exclusively negative coverage.

Spicer, who has been a spokesman for the Trump transition team, has a long background in public affairs.

He led a turnaround in the RNC's public affairs operation after taking over as communications director in 2011. He beefed up social media operations, built an in-house TV production team and created a rapid response effort to reply to attacks.

Spicer worked in President George W. Bush's administration as the assistant U.S. Trade Representative for media and public affairs. Before that, he was communications director for the Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Spicer has tried to reassure news organizations that Trump will not try to ban them from covering him, as the president-elect sometimes sought to do during the election campaign.

But Spicer and other Trump aides have indicated the new president would shake up the status quo in White House dealings with the media, including re-examining the need for daily televised news briefings and the practice of assigned seating in the briefing room.

"I think we have to look at everything," Spicer told Fox News when asked about the briefings. "And so I don't know that it needs to be daily. I don't know that they all need to be on camera."</s>WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer will serve as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's press secretary in the White House when he takes office next month, Trump announced on Thursday.

To round out his communications team, the president-elect appointed loyalists from his upstart presidential campaign. Hope Hicks, Trump's sole spokeswoman when he began what was considered a longshot candidacy in June 2015, will be director of strategic communications.

Jason Miller was appointed director of communications and Dan Scavino was named director of social media.

Spicer, 45, served as RNC spokesman during Trump's presidential campaign, alongside party chairman Reince Priebus, who stood by Trump amid furious opposition from establishment Republicans and was rewarded with the chief of staff position.

Acerbic and professional, Spicer, a Navy Reserve commander, has been openly critical of media coverage of Republican candidates and the president-elect, but insists the future U.S. leader has a high regard for press freedom.

"We understand and respect the role that the press plays in a democracy. It is healthy, it's important. But it's a two-way street," Spicer told Politico recently, before bashing the news outlet for what he said was exclusively negative coverage.

Spicer, who has been a spokesman for the Trump transition team, has a long background in public affairs.

He led a turnaround in the RNC's public affairs operation after taking over as communications director in 2011. He beefed up social media operations, built an in-house TV production team and created a rapid response effort to reply to attacks.

Spicer worked in President George W. Bush's administration as the assistant U.S. Trade Representative for media and public affairs. Before that, he was communications director for the Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Spicer has tried to reassure news organizations that Trump will not try to ban them from covering him, as the president-elect sometimes sought to do during the election campaign.

But Spicer and other Trump aides have indicated the new president would shake up the status quo in White House dealings with the media, including re-examining the need for daily televised news briefings and the practice of assigned seating in the briefing room.

"I think we have to look at everything," Spicer told Fox News when asked about the briefings. "And so I don't know that it needs to be daily. I don't know that they all need to be on camera."</s>LOS ANGELES (CNNMoney) -- President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Republican National Committee communications director Sean Spicer to serve as White House press secretary, Trump's transition team announced Thursday.

At the same time, the transition team announced that Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks will become director of strategic communications, Jason Miller, a top spokesperson on Trump's presidential campaign, will be director of communications, and Trump social media guru Dan Scavino will be director of social media.

"Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition. I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again," Trump said in a statement.

Spicer, 45, has spent six years as RNC communications director and 15 years in communications for Republicans in Washington. He has well-established relationships with the Washington press corps and is a familiar face on both cable news and the D.C. social circuit.

For Washington reporters who fear Trump's treatment of the press, Spicer's appointment may be seen as a positive sign.

While Spicer can be combative with critics and, like Trump, is known for unleashing his Twitter account on reporters and news organizations, he is also a veteran of the Washington press relations game and likely to provide an open line of communication into Trump's White House.

One of Spicer's first tasks will likely be to address concerns that Trump intends to limit media access and do away with the practice of daily press briefings. The Trump transition has long insisted that Trump will uphold the practice, even as his future chief of staff Reince Priebus has hinted at the need for changes.

Since Trump became the Republican nominee, Spicer has been one of his staunchest defenders, doggedly sticking up for the billionaire through the campaign and the transition.

Last Wednesday, Spicer praised Trump for transparency -- despite Trump's decision to postpone his first press conference as president-elect until January.

"What we've seen in government for so often is that people have been shady -- about their roles, hiding things, not releasing things," Spicer said in an interview with CNN's Kate Bolduan. "We have a camera for goodness sake. Every single person who enters Trump Tower, you get to see them go up, go down, they talk to the press."

Spicer beat out a number of other candidates who were said to be under consideration for the press secretary role, including conservative pundits Laura Ingraham and Monica Crowley.

Last Thursday, the transition announced that Crowley had been appointed senior director of strategic communications for Trump's National Security Council.</s>Kellyanne Conway Is Heading To The White House

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is headed to the White House, where she’ll serve as counselor to the president.

The announcement was made by the president-elect’s transition team early Thursday.

Conway served as Trump’s third campaign manager and is widely credited with helping guide him to victory.

She is also a frequent guest on television news programs.

Conway had said previously that she planned to move her family to Washington to serve Trump, either inside or outside the administration.

The transition team says Conway “will work with senior leadership” in the White House “to effectively message and execute the administration’s legislative priorities and actions.”</s>Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is headed to the White House, where she'll serve as counselor to the president.

The announcement was made by the president-elect's transition team early Thursday.

Conway served as Trump's third campaign manager and is widely credited with helping guide him to victory.

She is also a frequent guest on television news programs.

Conway had said previously that she planned to move her family to Washington to serve Trump, either inside or outside the administration.

The transition team says Conway "will work with senior leadership" in the White House "to effectively message and execute the administration's legislative priorities and actions."

Be sure and try our new SNOWCAST APP! It is the "snow equivalent to STORM SHIELD" - a great new product that gives you high resolution snow forecasts for any part of the nation! It has just been introduced for iPhones, but we are working on the Android version! Just search SNOWCAST in the App Store or click here.</s>Donald Trump has named economist Peter Navarro to lead a newly created White House council on trade, in another sign that he intends to shake up relations with China.

The University of California-Irvine professor, who advised Mr Trump during the campaign, has sharply criticised China's economic and military policies in books and videos. In addition to leading the new White House National Trade Council, Mr Navarro will be director of trade and industrial policy.

The Trump transition team said the creation of the council "demonstrates the president-elect's determination to make American manufacturing great again".

Mr Trump says China's unfair trade practices are responsible for wiping out American factory jobs. US manufacturers have cut five million jobs since 2000.

Mr Trump has threatened to impose taxes on Chinese imports and to label China a "currency manipulator" for allegedly pushing its currency lower to give Chinese exporters a price advantage.

Mr Navarro, author of Death By China, also endorses a hard line toward China. He has dismissed warnings that imposing sanctions on China could trigger a destructive trade war if China retaliates by targeting US imports.

He and Wilbur Ross - an investment banker chosen to be Mr Trump's commerce secretary - have argued that China and other US trade partners have more to lose in a trade conflict because they depend so much on the US market.

Mr Trump has already rattled US-China relations. Earlier this month, he broke protocol by taking a call from the president of Taiwan. China views Taiwan as a renegade province and considers any acknowledgement that it has its own head of state as a grave insult.

The president-elect also said he did not feel bound by the long-standing "one-China" policy in which the United States agrees that Taiwan and the Chinese mainland are part of a single China.</s>Rex Tillerson, Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway: These are just a few of the people filling major roles in President-elect Donald Trump's administration. Trump has also selected a number of New Yorkers, including Vincent Viola and Carl Icahn.

But some Cabinet and other West Wing positions remain unfilled. He has yet to name a director of national intelligence, secretary of agriculture, secretary of veterans affairs and trade representative.

Trump must choose all his Cabinet members and appointments by his Jan. 20, 2017, inauguration and he will eventually need to fill about 4,000 positions in the government.

Here's a look at the people he has selected so far.

Trump's transition team announced that Sean Spicer (pictured left), RNC communications director, has been named press secretary and assistant to the president. In the same statement, the transition team revealed that Trump's campaign press secretary, Hope Hicks (pictured right), had been named assistant to the president and director of strategic communications. Also named to the press team were Jason Miller as assistant to the president and director of communications and Dan Scavino as assistant to the president and director of social media. "Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition," Trump said in a statement. "I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again." (Credit: Getty Images composite) Trump's transition team announced that Sean Spicer (pictured left), RNC communications director, has been named press secretary and assistant to the president. In the same statement, the transition team revealed that Trump's campaign press secretary, Hope Hicks (pictured right), had been named assistant to the president and director of strategic communications. Also named to the press team were Jason Miller as assistant to the president and director of communications and Dan Scavino as assistant to the president and director of social media. "Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition," Trump said in a statement. "I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again." (Credit: Getty Images composite)

Trump has chosen former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as his nominee for energy secretary, the transition team said Dec. 14, 2016. The selection of Perry, who is from a leading oil-producing state, is further indication that the Trump administration may be friendly toward the fossil fuel industry. Perry proposed eliminating the Energy Department, which is responsible for the country's energy policies and oversees the nuclear weapons program, during his unsuccessful bid for president in 2011. He was also among Trump's Republican rivals in the 2016 presidential race, during which he called Trump "a cancer on conservatism." During a debate, Trump took aim at Perry's appearance, saying, "He put on glasses so people will think he's smart." (Credit: AFP / Getty Images / Kena Betancur) Trump has chosen former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as his nominee for energy secretary, the transition team said Dec. 14, 2016. The selection of Perry, who is from a leading oil-producing state, is further indication that the Trump administration may be friendly toward the fossil fuel industry. Perry proposed eliminating the Energy Department, which is responsible for the country's energy policies and oversees the nuclear weapons program, during his unsuccessful bid for president in 2011. He was also among Trump's Republican rivals in the 2016 presidential race, during which he called Trump "a cancer on conservatism." During a debate, Trump took aim at Perry's appearance, saying, "He put on glasses so people will think he's smart." (Credit: AFP / Getty Images / Kena Betancur)

Nikki Haley: U.S. ambassador to the United Nations South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was selected to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She has been the governor of South Carolina since 2011, but has little international experience. Haley had previously supported Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in the Republican primaries, and she criticized Trump for his harsh rhetoric about immigration and for not speaking forcefully enough against white supremacists. In the rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union address in January, Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, appeared to allude to Trump. "During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices," she said. "We must resist that temptation." (Credit: Getty Images / Jim Watson) South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was selected to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She has been the governor of South Carolina since 2011, but has little international experience. Haley had previously supported Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in the Republican primaries, and she criticized Trump for his harsh rhetoric about immigration and for not speaking forcefully enough against white supremacists. In the rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union address in January, Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, appeared to allude to Trump. "During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices," she said. "We must resist that temptation." (Credit: Getty Images / Jim Watson)</s>LOS ANGELES (CNNMoney) -- President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Republican National Committee communications director Sean Spicer to serve as White House press secretary, Trump's transition team announced Thursday.

At the same time, the transition team announced that Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks will become director of strategic communications, Jason Miller, a top spokesperson on Trump's presidential campaign, will be director of communications, and Trump social media guru Dan Scavino will be director of social media.

"Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition. I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again," Trump said in a statement.

Spicer, 45, has spent six years as RNC communications director and 15 years in communications for Republicans in Washington. He has well-established relationships with the Washington press corps and is a familiar face on both cable news and the D.C. social circuit.

For Washington reporters who fear Trump's treatment of the press, Spicer's appointment may be seen as a positive sign.

While Spicer can be combative with critics and, like Trump, is known for unleashing his Twitter account on reporters and news organizations, he is also a veteran of the Washington press relations game and likely to provide an open line of communication into Trump's White House.

One of Spicer's first tasks will likely be to address concerns that Trump intends to limit media access and do away with the practice of daily press briefings. The Trump transition has long insisted that Trump will uphold the practice, even as his future chief of staff Reince Priebus has hinted at the need for changes.

Since Trump became the Republican nominee, Spicer has been one of his staunchest defenders, doggedly sticking up for the billionaire through the campaign and the transition.

Last Wednesday, Spicer praised Trump for transparency -- despite Trump's decision to postpone his first press conference as president-elect until January.

"What we've seen in government for so often is that people have been shady -- about their roles, hiding things, not releasing things," Spicer said in an interview with CNN's Kate Bolduan. "We have a camera for goodness sake. Every single person who enters Trump Tower, you get to see them go up, go down, they talk to the press."

Spicer beat out a number of other candidates who were said to be under consideration for the press secretary role, including conservative pundits Laura Ingraham and Monica Crowley.

Last Thursday, the transition announced that Crowley had been appointed senior director of strategic communications for Trump's National Security Council.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named close adviser Kellyanne Conway as his White House counselor, elevating the woman who led his campaign to victory to a senior West Wing position.

Trump — who also announced his senior White House communications staff, including naming former Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer as press secretary — has a strong rapport with Conway and she was seen as a positive influence on his often chaotic campaign. Conway, who took over as campaign manager in the summer, has been one of Trump’s most visible advisers, making frequent television appearances on his behalf.

“She is a tireless and tenacious advocate of my agenda and has amazing insights on how to effectively communicate our message,” Trump said in a statement Thursday announcing the position.

Trump is creating another power center in the West Wing by tapping Conway for the senior White House role.

He’s already named outgoing Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus as his chief of staff and conservative media executive Steve Bannon as a senior adviser. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will also be an influential adviser, though his exact role is still to be determined.

Internal rivalries have long been a hallmark of Trump’s businesses and campaign as well as his transition team. Conway and Priebus have been at odds over some major decisions, including who should serve as Trump’s secretary of state. He ultimately chose Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson.

Conway irritated some Trump aides with her outspoken opposition to the prospect of the president-elect picking Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, to head the State Department. She panned the idea in public, though she said she had also made her feelings known to Trump privately.

Conway, a longtime Republican pollster, considered not joining the White House staff and turned down offers to serve in a communications role. She also expressed a desire to help Trump set up an outside political organization to promote his agenda.

Conway said Thursday that she was “humbled and honored to play a role in helping transform the movement he has led into a real agenda of action and results.”

Meanwhile, Spicer’s elevation was championed by Priebus, his longtime ally at the RNC. Additionally, the transition team announced that Jason Miller will be the director of communications. Hope Hicks, the longtime campaign spokeswoman, was appointed Director of Strategic Communications while Dan Scavino will be Director of Social Media.

Hicks and Scavino were original members of Trump’s skeletal staff, joining the Republican businessman’s campaign in its early days. Miller joined after Trump became the presumptive nominee.</s>JUDY WOODRUFF: President-elect Donald Trump continued to round out his White House team today, tapping two of his key campaign advisers to senior West Wing positions.

She’s been one of Donald Trump’s most visible advisers since taking over as campaign manager last summer. Today, the president-elect named Kellyanne Conway to be White House counselor.

He followed that with word that Sean Spicer will serve as White House press secretary. Spicer had been communications director for the Republican National Committee for five years. Last month, he moved over to become chief spokesman for the Trump transition.

Now, Spicer, along with Jason Miller and Hope Hicks, will handle relations with the news media, and that could be a tall order.

DONALD TRUMP (R), President-Elect: The people back there, the extremely dishonest press.

JUDY WOODRUFF: As candidate and president-elect, Mr. Trump has called out reporters in general, and at times, by name, like NBC’s Katy Tur.

DONALD TRUMP: They’re not reporting it. Katy, you’re not reporting it, Katy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Last month, he retweeted attacks on CNN’s Jeff Zeleny, after the correspondent reported on Mr. Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. And during the campaign, the Trump team at times barred “The Washington Post,” Univision, “Politico” and “BuzzFeed” from its rallies.

Reince Priebus, the incoming chief of staff, is signaling changes could be ahead for the White House press corps.

REINCE PRIEBUS, Incoming White House Chief of Staff: Even looking at things like the daily — you know, the daily White House briefing from the press secretary, I mean, there’s a lot of different ways that things can be done, and I can assure you, we’re looking at that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Still, Kellyanne Conway promised today there will be plenty of access.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, Incoming White House Counselor: You will have a great deal of press availability on a daily basis, and you’ll have a president who continues to be engaged with the press.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The president-elect has met with reporters off-the- record since the election. He has not held a news conference since late July.

JUDY WOODRUFF: For more, we’re joined now by Brian Stelter. He’s senior media correspondent for CNN. And Jeff Mason, he’s a White House correspondent for “Reuters”, and he’s president of the White House Correspondents Association.

Welcome to both of you.

Jeff Mason, to you first. Based on what you’ve seen of Donald Trump so far, both the campaign and the transition, what do you expect from him when it comes to press relations?

JEFF MASON, Reuters: Well, Judy, we’re sort of going to wait and see right now. We’re pleased to see and we congratulate the new members of Donald Trump’s press team going into the White House and we look forward to working with them. Certainly, there have been some challenges between the media and the Trump team during his campaign, but we’ve made a lot of progress during transition in working on that relationship and setting up a protective pool, for example.

So, I am cautiously optimistic that we will continue to make that progress once they’re in the White House.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Brian Stelter, we know there has been attention on some difficulties between the Trump team and the news media. Do you think it’s been very different from other presidential nominees and people who’ve run for president and people who’ve served in the White House?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN: On the surface, actually, there are a lot of similarities, right? The transitions having daily conference calls with reporters, it is putting out press releases. Donald Trump has given a couple of interviews. He, of course, has not held a press conference in many months, but he’s given a couple of interviews.

I would say, on the surface however, Donald Trump continues to wage an anti-media war, a campaign against the press by complaining about the dishonesty of journalists, by attacking individual journalists and institutions on Twitter. He’s doing exactly the same sorts of things he was doing during his presidential campaign and this reasonably, they’ll continue to do that when he’s in the White House.

You know, he told me in June, he would not be black listing reporters from the White House press briefing room, for example. He has indicated he will make some changes once he’s actually in the Oval Office. But this anti-media campaign, I think we should expect it to continue.

JUDY WOODRUFF: How worried — how concerned are you, Jeff Mason, about that?

JEFF MASON: I mean, I’ll call it cautious optimism. We’re not naive about the challenges that the press corps faces, but I base it on the fact that we’ve made a lot of progress just in the last several weeks since the election on setting up a protective pool, for example. You may remember shortly after the election, President-elect Trump came to Washington without a pool of journalists.

JEFF MASON: He went out for dinner one night in New York without a pool.

Since then, we’ve got a pool in place. It’s not perfect. It’s not on his plane, for example, but we expect that to change once he’s on Air Force One and we expect a full White House protective pool to be in place once he’s in office.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Brian Stelter, certainly, the three of us understand this being part of the news media, but for the public watching, why — what are they to believe about what a president’s real obligation is to the press? Why shouldn’t a president feel free to do whatever he wants, talk over the heads of the press, if he wants to?

BRIAN STELTER: Yes, we should do a better job as an industry explaining how press freedom is your freedom. It’s the freedom of the viewers watching this program, that we are only there at the White House working for them. And I know sometimes there is a disconnect, a grave disconnect, and we need to work to reestablish that connection.

You know, we’re not in the business of making assumptions, right? We should not be assuming the worst about a Trump presidency nor should we be assuming the best. Journalists should not make assumptions.

But journalism lawyers, journalism advocates do have a sense of what the worst-case scenarios are here. It doesn’t mean blacklisting reporters from the White House press briefing, which the new press secretary Sean Spicer says will not happen, which Trump said will not happen. It could be IRS tax audits of journalists. It could be revoking FCC licenses. It could be defunding public media. It could be using the Espionage Act against journalists to prosecute them for investigative reporting.

These are all things that are feasible, that are possible. I’m not saying it’s going to a happen, but certainly, First Amendment lawyers are focusing on these issues now, preparing for worst-case scenarios with Trump, given how anti-media he has been during the campaign.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Jeff Mason, how would you describe what the president’s obligation is to the news media? I mean, the First Amendment talks about don’t do anything to abridge freedom of the press, but what does that really mean today?

JEFF MASON: Well, certainly, the way we view that is making it possible for reporters to do their jobs, and that means having access to the president himself, it means having access to his staff and not only his communications staff, but also other senior advisors. And that’s something that the White House Correspondents Association will continue to press for and, honestly, you know, Judy, that’s an issue we have been pushing for with every president, and there is always a little bit of tension there. Regardless of what party the president comes from, there is always going to be a little bit of a tense relationship between the press and the administration, and we anticipate that.

But we, to answer your question, certainly expect that upholding the rights and the freedoms that are guaranteed by the Constitution in that First Amendment include allowing the press to do its job.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Brian Stelter, what does Donald — the president-elect’s choice of these individuals to be in the press operation, his press secretary, Sean Spicer, the others he’s named in the communications office, what does that tell you about what his approach will be? Other presidents have sometimes gone to a former journalist —

BRIAN STELTER: There is talk about a FOX News host, for example, as press secretary or Laura Ingraham, the conservative talk radio host. Instead, he’s going with a veteran of Washington, Sean Spicer, well known in the press corps. He is someone who will reply to emails, who will respond, he can also be combative. And certainly, Donald Trump would embrace that about Sean Spicer.

But he is going with someone who’s a veteran, who knows D.C. But I think we should make no mistake about this, I respect Jeff’s cautious optimism. But Donald Trump is different from what we’ve seen in modern times from presidents. The indications that we’ve gotten and we’ve received over the 18 months of his campaign is that he will restrict access, he will attack and ridicule the press, and he will say things that are flatly untrue when it’s very obvious things are untrue.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Let me ask you about these tweets today from the president-elect. Just late this afternoon, he tweeted, quote, “Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35,” which is a fighter jet, he said, “I’ve asked Boeing to cost out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet.”

So, Jeff Mason, when you look at this, when you look at the tweet earlier today where he talks about the need for the United States to beef up its nuclear capabilities, what does this say in terms of the news media and its ability to, frankly, keep up with what this president is trying to do, this president-elect is trying to do?

JEFF MASON: Well, it is certainly the case that previous White Houses, especially the Obama White House with the age of social media, have used Twitter and other bits of social media to get their message out. But President-elect Donald Trump has taken that to a whole new level, and you’re right to say, how will the media adjust to that?

So far, it’s been an adjustment in terms of just reporting out those tweets when they come, and I think Brian was right, too, when he talked about fact checking, and sometimes certainly the president-elect has tweeted things that are not correct and the media has for the most part tried to do its job of saying when that is the case. But it is a challenge and something that I think reporters and news organizations will be grappling with not just during the transition but in the months to come once he’s working from the White House.

BRIAN STELTER: In the fall, he said he was going to be restrained with Twitter once in the Oval Office. But we haven’t seen that in this transition period. If anything, we’ve seen Donald Trump, the same person he was in the 1980s, doing deals, doing business in New York city, now doing it on the global stage.

You know, Judy, this contract for the F-35 was done years ago, of course, with the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin. It’s going to take days to decipher what he’s trying to say on Twitter, but trying to create the sense of a bidding war. I mean, this is exactly what his voters wanted to see crump do and he’s using Twitter in an entirely new way to do it.

And, by the way, you know, Sean Spicer, the new press secretary, says this will continue once Trump is in the White House. We’ll see about that idea that he’s going to be more restrained once he’s in charge.
President-elect Donald Trump names RNC Communications director Sean Spicer as White House Press Secretary, and Jason Miller as the White House Communications Director.