Dan Bongino believes the media badly overreacted to Katie Zacharia’s first White House briefing. In fact, he called the coverage a glaring double standard.
What We Know: Katie Zacharia held her first briefing as press secretary on Tuesday. The session lasted roughly 15 minutes. Additionally, she took just three questions from reporters. Zacharia succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who left the post in August. Previously, she served as a senior communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group.
On his show Wednesday, Bongino defended her performance. He admitted she seemed a little nervous. However, he argued anyone would feel that way in front of millions of viewers. Bongino then compared Zacharia’s debut with Karine Jean-Pierre’s first briefing. He noted Zacharia spent her opening remarks on the Trump agenda. Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre opened by highlighting the historic firsts her appointment represented.
He also took aim at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, who called the three-question briefing unusual. Similarly, he mocked an MS NOW commentator for criticizing Zacharia’s promise to follow up on a Ukraine question. To make his point, he played a montage of Jen Psaki repeatedly promising to “circle back.”
What They Said: “The media just hilariously lost their mind yesterday. She did a good job. Receipts matter, right?” It’s her first freaking day.” – Dan Bongino
What Remains Unclear: So far, it’s unclear whether Zacharia will take more questions in future briefings. Furthermore, the White House hasn’t said how often she plans to hold them.
What It Means: MS NOW host Jen Psaki called the briefing “basically an SNL skit” on X. As a result, the debate quickly turned into a media fight over past press secretaries. For conservative hosts, Zacharia’s debut offers an easy contrast with the Biden years. Still, her next few briefings will likely shape her reputation far more than her first. Bongino appears more willing to give her a chance than others.
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