NEW YORK (AP) — It's one of the most high-profile jobs in any presidential administration — the White House press secretary. A bridge between the national political media and the president they're trying to cover, the press secretary is no simple mouthpiece.
They answer questions, present the administration's positions and, in the way they interact with journalists, press secretaries can reflect how their boss feels about the media.
That's a reason
why so much attention has been directed at Katie Zacharia as she started this week as President Donald Trump's press secretary, after the departure of Karoline Leavitt.
Here are a handful of press secretary moments through recent decades — including one you might not expect.
Only 29 when he was named to the job, Ziegler was press secretary for Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1974. The latter portion of that period was consumed by the Watergate political scandal, in which the administration was implicated and which led to Nixon's resignation. Ziegler downplayed the break-in at the heart of the scandal but on April 17, 1973, he essentially acknowledged previous denials about White House involvement were not true, saying: “This is the operative statement. The others are inoperative.”
Brady had only been in the position of Ronald Reagan's press secretary for just over two months when he was severely wounded by a gunshot during an attempted assassination aimed at Reagan on March 30, 1981. Brady was hit in the head, resulting in brain damage and some paralysis. Popular with the press corps, he was greeted with loud applause on Nov. 9, 1981, when he paid a visit to the press room. He was unable to continue as press secretary but kept the title for the duration of the Reagan presidency and worked in the White House.
Gibbs was named press secretary after the election of Barack Obama, and held the position from 2009-2011. One of the more exasperated moments of his tenure came early in that period, in July 2009, following the arrest of a Black professor by a white police officer at the professor's own home. Obama came under criticism for his commentary around the incident, and invited both men to the White House on July 30, 2009, to talk about it. It was dubbed the “Beer Summit” by media despite the administration's efforts to downplay it as merely a moment of conversation. The day after it happened, Gibbs poked fun at the media frenzy in covering it, like the use of a countdown clock and images from actual geopolitical summits. He said Obama's disdain for “the hoopla ... was much justified.”
Spicer was Trump's first press secretary in his first administration, from January to July of 2017. He immediately started with criticism of the media, and interactions between him and journalists were often contentious. He became the subject of parodies and internet memes, including a portrayal by comedian Melissa McCarthy on “Saturday Night Live.” One of the most memorable moments of his time in the role was the night of May 9, 2017, following Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey. Spicer was seen huddling on White House grounds around some bushes, and away from bright lights, largely avoiding reporters.
Psaki served as press secretary in Joe Biden's administration, from January 2021 until mid-May 2022. A recurring theme during that time was sharp exchanges between Psaki at the podium in the White House press room and Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy in the journalists' seats. In one January 2022 press briefing, Doocy asked about a social media comment that the secretary of state had made in support of Ukraine, saying, “Has that ever worked at stopping an authoritarian regime from doing anything?” Psaki replied, “I will have to say that unlike the last administration we don’t think Twitter is the only means of engaging or negotiating or discussing important topics.” Despite heated moments, though, both have said publicly that they had a civil and professional working relationship.
In a case of art and life colliding, the real White House press corps got a visit from a fictional press secretary on April 29, 2016, when “White House press secretary” C.J. Cregg of “The West Wing” television series made an unexpected appearance. Actress Allison Janney portrayed the no-nonsense Cregg in the show and reprised the role for a few minutes before breaking character and talking about why she was really there — the opioid epidemic.
