The White House stenographers have a problem. Donald Trump is talking so much, the people responsible for transcribing his public remarks are struggling to keep up with all the words.
There were more than 22,000 on Inauguration Day, then another 17,000 when Trump visited disaster sites in North Carolina and California. It鈥檚 enough to strain the ears and fingers of even the most dedicated stenographer, especially after four years of Joe Biden鈥檚 relative quiet.
Now there are discussions about hiring additional staff to keep up with the workload, according to people with knowledge of the conversations who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal matters.
The flood of words is one of the most visible 鈥� or audible 鈥� shifts from Biden to Trump, who craves the spotlight and understands better than most politicians that attention is a form of power. He鈥檚 been speaking nearly nonstop since starting his second term, drowning out dissenting voices and leaving his opponents struggling to be heard.
Take Wednesday, for example. During a signing ceremony for legislation to accelerate deportations, Trump, a Republican, talked up his accomplishments, claimed Hamas was using U.S.-funded condoms to make bombs in Gaza, defended his administration鈥檚 efforts to freeze federal spending and reduce the government workforce, veered through descriptions of migrant violence and made the surprise announcement that Guant谩namo Bay, Cuba, would be used as a detention center for people who are in the U.S. illegally.
Trump鈥檚 commentary remains laden with falsehoods, including baseless allegations about voter fraud and assertions that California water policies worsened the recent wildfires. Sometimes he speaks off the cuff about consequential geopolitical matters, such as a recent suggestion that Palestinians should be displaced from Gaza while the enclave is rebuilt. It can be hard to know when to take him seriously, like when he muses about serving a third term, which the U.S. Constitution does not allow.
But now that Trump is back in the presidency, it鈥檚 hard to ignore him.
鈥淗e鈥檚 dictating the news on his terms,鈥� said Michael LaRosa, who worked as a television producer before serving as a spokesperson for former first lady Jill Biden. 鈥淗e鈥檚 become America鈥檚 assignment editor.鈥�
Most presidents try to start their terms with a bang, seizing the moment when their influence could be at its peak. However, Trump is in a different league.
Biden, a Democrat, spent 2 hours and 36 minutes talking on camera and used 24,259 words in his first week in office four years ago, according to numbers generated by Factba.se.
Trump鈥檚 comparable stats: nearly 7 hours and 44 minutes and 81,235 words last week. That鈥檚 longer than watching the original 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� trilogy back-to-back-to-back, and more words than 鈥淢acbeth,鈥� 鈥淗amlet鈥� and 鈥淩ichard III鈥� combined.
It鈥檚 also much more than when Trump took office for his first term eight years ago. Back then, he was only on camera talking for 3 hours and 41 minutes and spoke 33,571 words.
Trump has spent decades practicing the best ways to get people to pay attention to him. As a New York businessman, he fed stories to gossip columnists, added gold plating to buildings and slapped his name on every product that he sold. His efforts reached an apex with 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� the reality television show that beamed him into American living rooms.
鈥淥ne of the things that has given him the advantage is that he thinks like an executive producer,鈥� said Kevin Madden, a Republican communications strategist. 鈥淗e鈥檚 constantly programming the next hour and trying to keep his audience engaged.鈥�
A sign of what was to come arrived shortly after Trump was sworn in. He delivered an inaugural address and then promptly gave more remarks to supporters that were even longer than his speech. And then he spoke at a downtown arena, where people had gathered for a rally, and later he parried questions from reporters for nearly an hour in the Oval Office while signing executive orders.
At one point, he turned to Fox News Channel鈥檚 Peter Doocy.
鈥淒oes Biden ever do news conferences like this?鈥� Trump said. 鈥淗ow many news conferences, Peter, has he done like this?鈥�
鈥淟ike this?鈥� Doocy responded.
鈥淣one,鈥� Trump said, answering his own question.
On Friday, Trump presented a tour de force of talking, demonstrating that he鈥檚 far more willing to put himself in unscripted situations than Biden was.
He spoke with reporters while leaving the White House in the morning. He talked to them again after landing in North Carolina, then again at a briefing on the recovery from Hurricane Helene, and then again while meeting with victims of the storm.
Trump flew that afternoon to Los Angeles, where he conversed with local officials about the recent wildfires. Before boarding Air Force One to leave the city in the evening, he answered more questions from reporters on the tarmac.
As his travels continued over the weekend, Trump spoke to reporters twice at the back of Air Force One 鈥� as often as Biden did for his entire term.
鈥淭ransparency is back!鈥� wrote longtime aide Margo Martin on social media.
That鈥檚 not the word that Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, would use.
鈥淏eing accessible and being transparent are two different things,鈥� she said.
Sometimes more talking doesn鈥檛 produce more clarity. One afternoon, Trump told reporters that there were 鈥渘o surprises鈥� when Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski decided to oppose Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon. The next morning, Trump said he was 鈥渧ery surprised鈥� by their votes.
Jamieson worries that the frenzied pace will exhaust people.
鈥淢ore people will simply check out,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 a problem. An informed citizenry is an engaged citizenry.鈥�
Kate Berner, who worked on Biden鈥檚 communications staff, said Trump鈥檚 constant talking helps keep his adversaries off balance.
鈥淏y doing so much and saying so much, it is hard for people who oppose him to organize,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it is hard for any one thing to take hold.鈥�
But there鈥檚 also a risk for Trump, Berner said. If he鈥檚 not careful, she said, he could once again start 鈥渨earing out his welcome with the American people.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.
Chris Megerian, The Associated Press
