What is being unfairly covered about the administration?

There are a lot of great reporters out there who are doing a good job. They’re tough and smart and they follow the story. But you get these crescendos; things are bad, [the president’s] numbers are bad. There’s a tendency to chase that ball down the field together. And this is true regardless of which party is in the White House. I used to do it as a reporter, so I’m not assigning blame or saying it’s partisan. I think you go through these cycles, and the White House is in one of those cycles. It’s a challenging time.

The Washington press corps is often accused of grandstanding during the televised briefings …

It’s mostly a first-row phenomenon with the television correspondents. If you look at the on-the-record briefings that are not televised, the tenor and tone is very different. The questions are often more substantive and serious. I’m not casting aspersions. I’m noting a pretty objective fact.