When the press fights the president, the president wins 

The East Room of the White House with its vaulted ceilings, ornate chandeliers and gold curtains – is the closest thing to a throne room the United States has.

When set up for a presidential news conference, as it was on Wednesday morning, it is magisterial. The president is announced, and the doors to a long hallway swing open. He steps onto the podium, towering over reporters squeezed tightly in...