Donald Trump made it clear on Tuesday night that he is fully aware of the generous treatment he has received from television news networks throughout his presidential campaign, bragging at a campaign rally in North Carolina about how much easier it is to be interviewed by phone.
"It’s always good when they take you by phone. That means you’re hot," Trump said. "You know, if you can do it by phone. When you start getting asked—I say, 'I’m sorry, I won’t be able to it, I’m on a plane. I’m going to North Carolina.' 'How bout by phone?' They don’t do phones. Have you ever seen anybody call into Bill O’Reilly? I never saw it."
He continued, "We do phoners to Meet The Press. We do phoners to Face the Nation. This Week. It’s so much easier folks, you sit home, 'Hi, how ya doing? How’s everything going? How’s the world? How’s the world?'"
Since Trump launched his campaign last June, all five networks have at times allowed him to phone in for interviews. Some network shows frequently conduct phoners with him. Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace was the only journalist to initially ban phone interviews on his show. NBC News' Chuck Todd, who moderates Meet the Press, later instituted a similar ban on his Sunday program. CBS News has also indicated that it will not accept Trump phone interview except in the case of breaking news.