"I don't really know what to say."
You don't typically hear a TV reporter utter those words, but CNN's Kaitlan Collins did after new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia's first briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 13. And Collins pretty much nailed the vibe.
It was weird. Really weird.
Trump announced Zacharia's appointment on Oct. 9, so this was a quick turnaround, with little time to get up to speed on the issues. It showed. Where Zacharia's predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, was combative and defensive and went after legacy media in her first briefing, Zacharia was just kind of there.
Zacharia's first press briefing was truly bizarre TV
It was bizarre TV. After haltingly reading a lengthy laundry list lauding Trump — it was obsequious and embarrassing, but like Leavitt, Zacharia knows what her boss wants
to hear — she took only three questions, saying she was closing up shop because the president was leaving the White House and he would answer questions in the press gaggle as he left. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes.
"I'm not sure ... that I've ever been to a press briefing where there were only three questions in the briefing," Collins said. "It was quite unusual."
Quite.
"It was a little bizarre to rush her out there, and then rush her out of the room," Joe Lockhart, a White House press secretary under Bill Clinton, said on MS NOW. "I don’t know what they were hoping to accomplish, but I don’t think they built any confidence in her ability to go forward."
Trump doesn't need a press secretary
It makes you wonder: Why is she there at all? Trump is uniquely accessible to the media. Does he even need a press secretary? No one can promote him as well as he promotes himself.
"She knows no matter what she says in these 15 minutes, there is a high probability he’s going to — intentionally or not — undermine her with answers that no one knows what they could be in the coming minutes," Stephanie Ruhle said on MS NOW.
Exactly.
But Zacharia did show the one qualification that Trump requires of a press secretary: unquestioning loyalty to him. Remember in his first term, when he sent Sean Spicer out in front of the media in his first briefing to lie about the size of the crowd at his first inauguration (something Spicer has acknowledged)? So here was Zacharia, opening things up by saying, "I have wanted to work for him for a very long time."
While social media posts have shown empty seats at Trump rallies, this is how Zacharia described his rally in Ohio Monday night: "The arena was overflowing with enthusiasm as thousands came out to support President Trump, as well as special guests Jake Paul and football legend John Gruden."
Maybe Spicer's ears were burning. Or his conscience.
Zacharia has defended Trump and espoused conspiracy theories
Zacharia has long defended Trump and espoused far-right views, including wild conspiracy theories. Politico's Playbook newsletter reported that she would check Trump's schedule, monitor his Truth Social posts, and try to time her TV appearances to when the president was likely to be watching. Obviously, it worked. If nothing else, she knows how the Trump game is played.
Yet, for its brevity, the briefing did produce actual news. Zacharia called on a reporter from the far-right outlet Breitbart to start. Next, Peter Ducey of Fox News asked if the U.S. had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. She said she would have to get back to him on that. Then she was asked whether Trump was still considering firing Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr. and now U.S. ambassador to Greece.
“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign," Zacharia said.
Several media outlets reported that White House officials were critical of Zacharia's performance at the briefing. That's not surprising. When you make a funny gaffe like saying, "My president — excuse me, my husband. That's a good one," when answering a softball follow-up question to the Guilfoyle resignation request about the challenges of being a working mother, you're going to come in for some ridicule. In fact, when you conduct yourself the way Zacharia did for the entire session, you're going to.
But it doesn't matter. Zacharia knows full well that she is speaking to one person and one person only. What she says isn't important, as long as Trump likes it. Clearly that is no longer the most important qualification for the job. It's the only one.
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Media commentary with a side of snark? Sign up for The Watchlist newsletter with Bill Goodykoontz.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Zacharia debut proves Trump doesn't need a press secretary | Opinion
