“The Briefing” host Jen Psaki spent 15 minutes Tuesday night breaking down new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia’s first press briefing and noted at one point that the job is “not for everybody.”
“I am just going to start tonight by saying something that I never thought I would ever say. Karoline Leavitt, wherever you are out there, I miss you,” Psaki admitted Tuesday on her MS NOW show. Psaki, who served as the 34th White House press secretary from January 2021 through May 2022 during the Biden administration, went on to react to the awkward opening of Zacharia’s introductory press briefing.
“Oh, Katie, Katie, Katie. I am so deeply uncomfortable already, and I’ve watched it multiple times today,” Psaki said. “I’m not going to lie, that beginning part was rough. It was rough to digest, rough to watch. But listen, let’s focus on the positives. Not an easy job. You wished everyone a good morning. It was, in fact, morning, so good job there.”
“I do think you violated the Hatch Act at least four times at this point, and we’re not even that far into the briefing. But honestly, you work for a man who ran campaign ads for weeks using taxpayer dollars,” Psaki continued. “So don’t spend too much time worrying about that part of the feedback.”
You can check out the full “Briefing” segment yourself below.
Psaki went on to slam Zacharia for only calling on Trump-friendly press outlets during her briefing, including Breitbart and Fox News, joking, “Way to go for the hard hitters there, Katie.” Psaki then reacted incredulously to Zacharia deflecting in response to a question about the status of the Trump administration’s intel-sharing relationship with Ukraine.
“Here’s just a couple of basics to just get you started on your prep: Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago. Despite that, your boss has invited Vladimir Putin back onto the world stage,” Psaki told Zacharia. “Ukrainians are suspicious for good reasons about your boss’ intentions and whether or not they’re getting the intel they need. So, yeah, maybe that one that should be on the tippy top of the list of topics you’re prepared for next time.”
“Maybe this whole White House press secretary thing isn’t really for Katie,” Psaki added, noting, “It’s not for everybody.”
The former White House press secretary subsequently lambasted Trump and his administration for “hacking away” at Americans’ expectations regarding governmental transparency and honest reporting.
“You can’t just gesture at the idea of press freedom by putting a figure like Katie Zachariah behind the White House podium,” Psaki explained. “But Donald Trump has been slowly and systematically hacking away at the kind of press freedom that is necessary to cover a presidential administration. He’s lowered our expectations for what a functioning press office looks like.”
“He tries to ban legitimate press outlets from the White House grounds,” Psaki continued, adding, “It’s all related. It’s not separate stories. It’s about cutting off the right of the public to know what is happening in the White House.”
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