They were pretty hostile responding, but I got to make some points that I think they took seriously:
Trump is helping the economy. Lower regulations, better trade deals, and lower taxes are lifting the poorest Americans up, growing the labor force, and making the economy no longer people's biggest worry.
Trump is the first president in decades not to start wars.
None of the Democrat front runners has the right answers. Bernie is naive about taxes and their costs. Warren is dishonest. Buttigeig is inexperienced. Biden is falling apart, and the people keeping him in the race are engaged in elder abuse.
I also defended some things they attacked with:
Congress is responsible for the children in cages, not Trump. They made the rules, they under funded the courts, they didn't build a wall, and they didn't respond when CBP officials asked for money or rule changes to allow the situation to improve.
Congress is responsible for the deficit, not Trump. They write and pass the budget. Of course, growing the economy will help.
Trump really does have an impact on the economy. Continuing the theme, Congress has given the executive the power to write regulations, negotiate trade, modify tariffs, and other things. Using these powers has serious economic impacts, and Trump is responsible.
I fully conceded some points:
Trump is an asshole to some people on Twitter.
Trump has done scummy New York businessman things in the past.
This still remains contentious:
I think Trump is ignoring the media because the media lies about him constantly. They think this sets a bad precedent, and is bad for transparency.
They think he lies constantly. I think it's mostly exaggeration, and differentiating is important.
Overall, went better than I expected, and I'm glad I spoke up.
Edit: added line breaks
Thank you.
"Are they aware of all the speeches, pressers, rallies, the WH website, the state visits, the CDC doing pressers every day on coronavirus, and yes, twitter, and on and on?"
I doubt it. I think they mostly keep up with "major" news sources, so they miss out on a lot of what he's saying. I will bring these things up when there's a round two, though.
Chopper talks. Every few days on his way to or from Marine One on the White House lawn, the President stops and talks directly to the press and answers their questions. He, himself, not a press secretary. This degree of transparency and accessibility is completely unprecedented.
The media doesn't like it because they lose their opportunity to be seen and heard spouting their own talking points. But any claim by the media that he is not accessible is a complete lie.
Tell your family to watch clips on the official White House YouTube channel and they will see a side of him the media does not show.