Coming from a republic in which the president is irrelevant and governance is entirely parliamentary in practice, I think it's highly refreshing to see a press

Coming from a republic in which the president is irrelevant and governance is entirely parliamentary in practice, I think it's highly refreshing to see a press secretary publically shooting the sh*t with journalists in this fashion. The alternative means of getting questions from the public to leaders is to have self-interested politicians grandstanding, asking questions of politicians who are experts in not answering them. It's pointless. They're not perfect, but these press briefings are far less stage-managed and more honest than any other public forum in which questions are asked, imo.