“She had to pause to sound out in her head how to pronounce ‘Venezuela,’” That’s not the joke… that actually happened.
Today was another Romper Room moment in the Donald Trump White House. His new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, proved unable, in her first time behind the podium, to meet even the very low expectations most people had for her. If you have never seen her, that is because you do not watch Fox News, where she sat as a media personality and crossed her legs. Yes, one of them. It wasn’t long before the press corps started talking today about the shortcomings of the person meant to represent this White House in media relations.
Trump has described Zacharia as “an attorney,” and she has repeatedly done the same on national TV. But a new investigation by Popular Information’s Judd Legum found no evidence that she has ever been admitted to practice law in any state, and the question came up Tuesday after her debut press conference.
“Trump was asked what state Zacharia passed the bar exam,” Legum posted on X. “Trump deferred to Zacharia to answer. Zacharia said, ‘When I moved to China.’ Which makes absolutely no sense.
The reviews were pointed and appropriate given what Zacharia presented.
“I don’t usually watch comedy so early in the day,” joked global affairs analyst Olga Nesterova. “14 min – too short for a briefing, too long for SNL cold open.”
“Uhh, what was that?” wondered journalist Jake LaHut.
“This is boom goes the dynamite bad,” cringed The Bulwark’s Jim Swift.
Most Americans know this is not normal White House behavior.
In January 2011, I offered uplifting words about Jay Carney as he started his job as the new White House Press Secretary.
I was serious then, and I am now, when I write that the next best job in the White House after the presidency is press secretary. It is a role that caught my attention when at age 11 (1973) President Richard Nixon when fuming that reporters were hounding him with questions grabbed Ron Ziegler by the shoulders and shoved him towards the journalists demanding, ‘You take care of it”. Every press secretary from that time onward has interested me.
Watching every press secretary operate before 2017 was like watching a talented dancer balance and pivot from note to note. The job requires background and gravitas, along with an appreciation for the members of the working press. Carney was a respected journalist in that role, a guy I admired. He worked with the perfect tone, sophistication, and skill to balance the White House’s needs with the press’s obvious needs.
That memory sits alongside today’s walking embarrassment: Zacharia, who held an unusually short first briefing with the media, ending in less than 15 minutes and calling on just three reporters, all from conservative outlets.
Last night Jimmy Kimmel showed a picture of the blond press secretary in a bathing suit with her coy look. The late-night talk show host said, “This is her thinking”. That sums up the mood of the nation that follows White House press relations. This White House isn’t serious about running a competent press operation and clearly dismissed the idea of putting a credible person behind the podium. Saturday Night Live has its opening stretch already written for its next live broadcast.
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