President-elect avoids press, heads out for dinner with family

pulse

November 16, 2016 11:21 AM

The president-elect received a standing ovation at the restaurant, Riggs wrote in the caption of a picture posted on Twitter.

President-elect Donald Trump avoided reporters as he left Trump Tower for the first time in days

President-elect Donald Trump avoided reporters late Tuesday as he left Trump Tower for the first time in days to go to dinner with his family.

A group of reporters is always present to cover the movements of the nation's leader, or in this case, the incoming leader. The information is "pooled," and shared with other media members that belong to the group.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told reporters at Trump Towers, where the president-elect lives and has his company headquarters, around 6:15 pm (2315 GMT) that there would be no more news for the evening.

More than an hour later a large motorcade, including an ambulance, left Trump Tower. Hicks did not immediately respond when asked if the president-elect had left the skyscraper.

Soon after Bloomberg News reporter Taylor Riggs, who was dining at the nearby 21 Club restaurant, saw Trump come in with members of his transition team and tweeted a photo.

The Trump entourage included his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, and sons Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, NBC reported.

Hicks later confirmed that Trump was having dinner with his family at the restaurant.

"I wasn't aware of this movement," Hicks told reporters, insisting that she would never do anything to "leave the press in the dark."

Hicks said that once a pool of reporters is selected to travel with Trump, then they will have "all of the access that they have ever had under any president."

Trump, who spent about two hours at the restaurant, has long expressed disdain for the news media, and the incident is likely to further sour this relationship.

The president-elect also took to Twitter to deny reports of turmoil in his efforts to build a new cabinet.

"Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!" he tweeted.

Trump credited his use of Twitter and other social media with helping him win the election, calling it a "great form of communication" in an interview Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes."

Trump has yet to hold a press conference since winning the November 8 election.

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