With all its faults, Twitter can produce interesting conversations, like this one in which a lot of people press Maggie Haberman on the question of why the Times does such softball interviews with Trump, why Times reporters don’t ask for detail or source or evidence when Trump makes a wild claim, why they simply transcribe instead of interviewing.

Hslf of Twitter thinks the Schmidt interview was revealing about the POTUS because it was his unfiltered thoughts. The other half is angry that @nytmike did not audition as an extra for the courtroom remake of "A Few Good Men" and interrupt him constantly.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 29, 2017

As at least one person rejoined, it’s funny that she frames the cross-examination in A Few Good Men that way, because what happens there is that the cross-examination elicits the truth. Do we not want that to happen in press interviews with Trump?

If one says/believes those are the only two options THEN it's a false choice. That was the only point. Because many interviews let him ramble but then push and challenge, of course.

— Jen "get knocked down, get back up " Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) December 29, 2017

https://twitter.com/ezlusztig/status/946589679004061696

Asking questions is not interrupting. I like this interview, but the "Let's just hear Trump's unfiltered thoughts" approach has not exactly been underrepresented in NYT pieces.

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) December 29, 2017

https://twitter.com/neeratanden/status/946592144025882624

https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/946593143943778304

Also your use of A FEW GOOD MEN suggests that you're on Nathan Jessup's side.

See, in that play, all those 'rude' questions got at the truth. Get it?

— A.R. Moxon (juliusgoat.bsky.social) (@JuliusGoat) December 29, 2017

That’s the one I was thinking of.

https://twitter.com/EvaChanda/status/946608860671901696

When Trump claimed he knew more about taxes & healthcare than anyone else on earth, it would have been nice if @nytmike had asked him to back that up. SOMEONE has to call Trump out when he says ridiculous things like that.

— Elizabeth Squires (@esquires1215) December 29, 2017

We get his unfiltered thoughts on Twitter. Asking him about Flynn would have been more useful than letting him say anything he wanted with zero follow up.

— Dave Hogg ✨ (@stareagle) December 29, 2017

And so on.

I sort of get the claim that he exposes himself the best, but I also think he should be treated like any other president, and asked grown-up questions.