The first question from the press pool to President Donald Trump and NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte was a great one: “What was the tipping point for you in making this decision, was it a conversation with President Putin, was it a piece of intelligence?”
Trump and Rutte on Monday morning were describing the new arms deal between the United States and NATO that will supply Ukraine with weapons to fight the ongoing Russian invasion.
Trump was just about to answer that question when the reporter, Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News, tacked on a second question: “And why are you giving them 50 more days?” she said, referring to the secondary tariffs that Trump is threatening as a punishment if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t broker a peace within 50 days.
They are both good questions. But when reporters ask two questions at the same time, they weaken their chances of getting either of them answered. It gives the respondent the opportunity to choose either or neither question.
