President Barack Obama on Friday bought himself and the rest of the White House a day off from the usual round of questions from the press, and all it took was some chocolate cake.
Onboard Air Force One, Obama said he wanted to give White House spokesman Josh Earnest a day off for Halloween. To sweeten the deal, he offered slices of a chocolate cake he bought during the trip:
One for the archives. Pres Obama insists on having picture taken with "Death By Chocolate cake" he ordered. pic.twitter.com/LNBYYJtbp1
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 31, 2014While many reporters have said the Obama administration is the most secretive administration in modern history, reporters traveling with Obama seemed to accept the deal without complaint. CBS reporter Mark Knoller reported the exchange via Twitter:
On Air Force One, Pres Obama negotiates no press gaggle for @PressSec in exchange for "Death by Chocolate" Cake for press pool.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 31, 2014Knoller seemed to indicate that the tradeoff was worth it, given the empty calories the White House dishes out at some briefings. "Chocolate cake provides more to chew on than most press briefings," he tweeted.
But not everyone agreed. Fox News reporter Ed Henry asked via Twitter why reporters agreed to the deal given all the news that happened on Friday:
Love celebrating #Halloween just like evone else, but why'd press pool allow President to give Josh day off on gaggle in exchange for cake?
— Ed Henry (@edhenryTV) October 31, 2014Lots of big stories today on #ISIS strategy struggles, for example, @presssec should have faced Q's on that aboard Air Force One
— Ed Henry (@edhenryTV) October 31, 2014
