Often due to time limitations, interviewers, anchors, hosts and moderators have no choice but to accept such non-answer responses. CNN's interviewers
et al, of late on their longer format shows, have shown a reduced willingness to allow interviewees -- be they government officials or commentators -- to get away unchallenged with giving non-answers.
Miller did what political figures often do: pretend they were asked a question other than the one they were indeed asked, and then answer as though they were asked that question. It's almost as though guests on news talk shows behave with hubris implicit of one's thinking it's their and not the host's show, and that's precisely the manner in which Miller comported himself. To wit, the very first question (0:35) Tapper asks -- "Did President Trump meet with any of the so-called "jumos?" -- is one that is directly answerable only by "yes," "no," or "I don't know." Instead of providing any one of those three direct answers, Miller embarks on a minute-long castigatory editorial about Steve Bannon and Michael Wolff. Miller proceeds that way throughout the segment until he got peeved over Tapper's repeated refusals to accept him doing so.
It's worth noting that when guests are booked on shows like
State of the Union, the other Sunday morning "talking heads" shows, and other non-impromptu format news-talk programs, they are given either topical guidance and/or the specific questions they'll be asked. [1] They are given that advance information so that they can (if need be) gather factual answers to the questions they'll be asked. After all, the whole point of the guests' being invited to appear on those programs is so they can provide "from the horse's mouth" facts and information that isn't already known. Just as program hosts spend copious amounts of time researching the topics they'll discuss, so too must guests and commentators. Quite simply, nobody who knows what they're doing and is reticent to appear a fool on such programs just "shows up" and starts talking.
Having written the above, I will point out too that there is one type of guest that often does show up and answer questions. Such guests are subject matter experts in a given discipline who appear to discuss only that disciple. They may be doctors, attorneys, economists, plumbers, zoo keepers, maids, etc. Obviously, for instance, a plumber asked to appear to discuss aspects of plumbing needn't do much advanced preparation. So too is it with a housekeeper who appears to answer questions about what s/he observed in a dwelling at which they worked. Interestingly enough, they have no trouble providing clear, direct answers to the questions they're asked.
Now I don't know what possesses political figures to appear on television knowing what they will be asked and what the topic is and instead of directly addressing the topic, saying whatever the "F" they want to say, regardless of whether their words directly address the questions asked or are even on-topic. I am glad, however, that news organizations like CNN, perhaps others, are calling out political figures who do so.
Note:
- Even in televised top-level town halls (debates or otherwise) the speakers/debaters receive the questions in advance; however, the temporal window is highly compressed, usually an hour or less prior to the questions being asked.
