Even by first-day standards, Donald Trump’s new press secretary is shockingly incompetent. Katie Zakaria has some media experience as a cable news commentator, though primarily on far-right channels such as Newsmax and One America News. She even worked in communications before, when she replaced the notorious Tricia McLaughlin as spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. But she only lasted six weeks there, which in retrospect should have been the first sign of trouble.
At her first White House press briefing on Tuesday, Zakaria began by stuttering through a lengthy statement about her desire to “expand, amplify and multiply all the victories of Trump’s second term as much as possible.”
It’s only going to get worse. Zakaria only answered questions from three reporters. Even though they came from friendly outlets—Fox News, Breitbart, and the Daily Mail—she still seemed overwhelmed. Her response to a softball question about her family was gut-wrenching. She said “my president,” then corrected herself and said “my husband.” After about seven minutes of questions, Zakaria conceded, directing reporters to the tarmac where Trump would board Marine One. “You can ask him all your questions there!” she announced.
Reviews of her performance were brutal.
“Trump managed to find a press secretary who can barely read,” independent journalist Aaron Rupar wrote.
Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki called it “basically a Saturday Night Live sketch.”
Rolling Stone political reporter Nikki McCann Ramirez called it “the first speech of the new press secretary.”
But Zakaria found a defender in the only audience that ultimately mattered. “I think she’s very good,” Trump shouted a few minutes later over the roar of Marine One’s engines, as Zakaria took the spot usually occupied by presidential aide Natalie Happ and stood smiling behind him.
The president certainly thinks she’s great. Zacharias possesses the only attributes that matter to Trump: She is blond, skinny, and seems to adore him passionately. Harp better watch out; as Trump’s most ardent follower, she faces real competition. The president confirmed this, praising Zakaria not because he had any special skills, but because he was a “devoted fan” with a “perfect record of support.”
But taking a step back, Zacharias’ hiring is instructive and encouraging. It’s another sign that the president is putting his own desire for adulation ahead of political considerations.
But taking a step back, Zacharias’ hiring is instructive and encouraging. It’s another sign that the president is putting his desire for adulation ahead of political considerations, such as winning the upcoming midterm elections for his party.
“When pressure comes, Donald Trump retreats into his comfort zone,” investigative journalist Lindsay Beilstein told me. Beilstein, who is writing a book about conspiracy theorists called “Angry Minds,” noted that “Zakariya has a long history of promoting QAnon.”
The term “QAnon” may seem like a blast from the past, and for good reason. According to a February 2022 PRRI report, tens of millions of Americans, including 25% of Republican voters, affirm the QAnon conspiracy theory that Democrats sexually abuse and kill children to drink their blood. Amid the gloom of the COVID-19 pandemic and the disaster of January 6, millions of Trump supporters have turned to the myth that Trump is God’s messenger sent to Earth to destroy this evil cabal of child killers. The fantasy of the former reality TV host as a crusader against pedophilia lost much of its public appeal after Trump blocked the Justice Department from releasing documents on his old friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But to Trump, QAnon is forever. While many of his constituents quietly pretended the whole QAnon thing never happened, the White House continued to try to revive the conspiracy cult over the summer. As The Bulwark’s Will Sommer reported in June, “the Trump administration has launched a bizarre QAnon-themed social media campaign,” with various departments tweeting QAnon slogans. Sommer told CNN after the report that even though “the president’s approval ratings continue to be low,” the White House is trying to tell his voters something else: “[R]Remember when you thought Trump was going to save the world? “
As a political move, this is a bad idea. Trump’s apparent narcissism and corruption are easier for voters to laugh off when the economy is doing well. But now that he has spurred inflation through tariffs and a war on Iran, his methods are no longer so interesting. Trump, for his part, seems less and less concerned with political reality and more concerned with saving face and feeding his own ego, even if it means sinking deeper into a bubble surrounded only by people who spend their days telling delightful lies about his greatness.
“He’s reliving QAnon because it represents the days of old, when his supporters worshiped him like a god,” Beilstein said. “Trump may not realize how vulnerable QAnon has become because he doesn’t live in the real world.”
Zakaria’s QAnon history is deep and disturbing. As Popular Information’s Judd Legum reports, “Zakariya has repeatedly used Truth Social to promote Pizzagate and other fringe conspiracy theories.” (Pizzagate is the original QAnon conspiracy theory that Democrats sexually abuse and eat children.) She has repeatedly accused John Pod, who ran Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, of Lian Nian posted, “The radical left-wing Hollywood elite are all pathological pedophile cannibals.” Zakaria also forwarded the false remarks of another Trump sycophant, Ali Alexander, who wrote: “Democrats want to mask up and rape your children. This is their Satanic platform.”
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Popular Information also investigated Zakaria’s claims that she was a lawyer and found “no evidence that [she] Passed the bar exam. “The press secretary is not a member of the bar in any state where she has worked. In fact, according to Legum and his team, there is no documentation proving she is admitted to practice law anywhere.
As she stood next to Trump after the disastrous briefing, a reporter asked, “Where did she pass the bar exam?”
The president looked at Zacharias quizzically, and Zacharias responded, “When I moved to China.” Astute readers will note that China has no authority to grant legal permission anywhere in the United States.
This clunky transfer would never have happened under Zakaria’s predecessor, Caroline Leavitt, who did a great job if for no other reason. Levitt, a smooth, fast-talking woman, kept reporters distracted from her attacks on the government’s various failings with her cartoonish Christian piety and non-stop performance of aggrieved victims. She idolizes Trump for no reason. Instead, she seemed to view him as a stepping stone to her own ambitions. This theory was reinforced when Leavitt left the White House, meaning she would become a stay-at-home mom, but ended up getting a cushy job as a Fox News commentator.
Trump’s move to replace Levitt with Happ was reportedly seen as a “joke” – although the “joke” was not humorous to the president, but a way to test boundaries. While press secretaries have long been experts on public opinion, under Trump the job has evolved into one that makes it easy to use outright lies and gaslighting to generate inflated praise for the president. But apparently this kind of external publicity is not enough for the president.
Being Trump’s press secretary is no longer about distorting news reports or confusing the public. The position has been refocused on the task of giving the president more hardcore Natalie Harp treatment. Even as the midterm elections draw closer, Trump has given up on the task of winning public support, choosing instead to retreat deeper into a fantasy world.
There, everyone loved him the most.
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