Katie Zacharia’s opening intonation of Trump achievements — from jobs and drug prices to oil deals and naval construction — evoked comparisons to a malfunctioning voice assistant
TOI Correspondent from Washington: For a White House that treats politics as a television spectacle and television as a political show, Donald Trump ‘s press secretaries have often looked as though they were selected by a casting director rather than the administration’s personnel office. Katie Zacharia arrived at the White House press room lectern on Tuesday camera-ready, with the familiar blonde look that prompted comparisons with Ivanka Trump, which some trolls insist is a required qualification for the job.
Then she opened her mouth, made a meal of a $54 billion pipeline, confused her husband with her new boss, answered three questions from favoured media, and made a hasty exit, reminding America that reading the script and performing the job are two very different things.
The White House press sec’s post combines the duties of a diplomat, crisis manager, political attack dog, fact-checker and human shock absorber, and the incumbent must know every policy, anticipate every scandal, explain every presidential improvisation and survive questions about things the president may have said five minutes earlier — or deny saying five years ago. Explaining that she did not intend to sacrifice time with her four children, Zacharia began: “So my president — excuse me, my husband. ..” She’s not there yet. But the line destined to outlive her tenure came during a discussion of family life.