Fox News attacks Trump's spokesperson
This past week, the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, made her debut in the briefing room in an appearance that was a failure. Nervous and overwhelmed, she only took three questions in fourteen minutes.
Two days later, the Fox News network seemed to lend her a hand on Sean Hannity’s nightly news program. The journalist interviewed her in a gesture intended to rebuild Zacharia’s public image after that disastrous presentation. It had all the appearance of being a requested record. Hannity began by reminding her of the failed appearance and the deceptions regarding her resume. But the spokesperson’s hesitation and excuses left Hannity with little alternative. Condescendingly, the presenter even gave her some “unsolicited advice,” reminding her that that press room would always be hostile toward her. What was supposed to be a media rescue operation for the spokesperson sank her even further. Considering that Fox is always compliant with Trump, the tone of that interview was unusual.
The most surprising thing is that twelve hours later, on Friday morning, Fox News interviewed Zacharia again. This time on the morning show Fox & friends. It seemed like a new opportunity to save her. The trio of presenters welcomed her, and Brian Kilmeade congratulated her on the position with a poisoned question: “How do you rate how it’s going for you so far?” Zacharia recited an answer that seemed learned by heart. Lawrence B. Jones immediately dealt her the blow: “I have to ask you: would you have liked to have informed the president about the bar exam and the fact that you hadn’t passed it?” The spokesperson once again gave some very fragile excuses. Presenter Ainsley Earhardt reminded her of the interview from a few hours earlier with Sean Hannity and offered her the possibility to clarify or better explain any of the answers she had given to her colleague. A gesture that underscored her television meltdown the night before and highlighted her insolvency when it came to expressing herself. At the end of the interview, Jones asked her if she believed she could earn Trump’s trust, and the spokesperson’s facial expression alone was enough to evidence her definitive failure in the role. The same Friday, the White House confirmed that Zacharia had been fired after only five days on the job.
Paradoxically, Fox News' journalistic demand has become news because, when it comes to the White House, it has been exceptional. It is possible that it was not the network's initial intention, but faced with the evidence they had no alternative. Fox News seems to have sacrificed the spokesperson to protect Trump. Zacharia's curricular deception is pointed out to conceal a new error in judgment by the White House and the decline of the institution. Perhaps loyalty to Trump has been what pushed Fox News to cut off at the root another blunder by the president that exposed his own incompetence.
