'Did they not test her out?': Strategist says Zacharia makes Leavitt 'look like James Madison'

[0:00] Today, a White House debut nearly 50 days in the making was over in less than 15 minutes. [0:07] Good morning. I am so honored to work for President Trump and the American people [0:17] as the new White House press secretary. I am going to end it because President Trump [0:23] is heading out to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska. And we can ask him all of the [0:29] questions out there. So thank you so much. With her head mostly down, reading from prepared [0:35] remarks, Katie Zachariah's first opportunity to speak to the press was short on almost everything, [0:40] time, questions and information. The president said she was, quote, very good. But that opinion [0:46] is apparently not shared by everyone in the White House. One official telling MSNOW just 10 minutes [0:51] after she rapped, quote, getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot. [0:55] She needs to get better. Much needs to get much better fast. Otherwise, she'll break Scaramucci's [1:01] record. That reference was to Anthony Scaramucci's historically short 11 day stretch as White House [1:07] communications director. I want to bring back Vaughn Hilliard and Sawyer Hacker. All right, [1:11] Vaughn, we went 47 days without a White House press secretary. Levitt's last formal briefing was [1:16] nearly 12 weeks ago. Talk about the role these briefings play in reporters like yourself being [1:22] able to hold the administration accountable on behalf of the American people, because today [1:27] felt to me more like a get to know you than a substantive exchange. And I wonder just how unusual [1:32] that is. Unusual. Usually on the first day of a press briefing for a press secretary, they take at [1:39] least a dozen or more questions across a variety of outlets. And that's not what happened here today. [1:46] Instead, Zachariah took questions from Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail and then promptly informed [1:52] everybody that she was done for the day. That is not normal here. And I think that there's two parts [1:57] to this job. I think that this is actually perhaps the second most important part of it. And because [2:03] it doesn't happen quite as frequently, necessarily, there are some press secretaries that have done [2:08] a press briefing almost every day. And it is an opportunity for reporters to push the executive [2:13] branch on providing some timelines, some sort of direction for the public about specifics. But in place [2:21] of not being able to interview the president of the United States every day. But the other part [2:24] of it is the press office in the communications office, as you know, being able to establish [2:30] relationships with reporters and news organizations so that we can go back and forth behind the scenes [2:36] to get some clarification on standard policy questions to ensure that we are informing our audience [2:42] of the efforts of the executive branch, whether it be from legislation that they're pushing, [2:46] foreign policy or, you know, executive orders in the case of this White House. And that is where [2:51] that is the next level of concern is just the extent to which this communications office will [2:56] effectively be able to communicate with the vast number of news organizations to offer such [3:01] clarifications and information. [3:03] So you've been a spokesperson for candidates, not quite the same as being the White House press [3:08] secretary, but you understand the pressure or the stakes of speaking on behalf of someone other [3:13] than yourself. It is not an easy job. What is the cost to the American people in the middle of an [3:20] ongoing war of a White House that claims to be transparent, but sends out a messenger that either [3:25] can't or won't field hard questions? [3:29] I mean, I think we lose an incredible amount of information. I mean, it's not just, you know, [3:33] that we don't have this White House press briefing every day where we get to ask, you know, [3:37] questions of the White House and their policies and the status of things like war in the Middle East. [3:41] But they're also just putting out blatant lies after lies, press releases and statements that [3:46] are completely devoid of fact and, you know, devoid of the truth. Yeah. And being a press [3:52] secretary is an incredibly difficult job, but that was one of the weirdest, most disjointed, [3:56] most awkward press briefings that I've ever seen in my life. And I think that's saying something. [4:01] And yeah, I mean, being a press press secretary for the White House is one of the most difficult [4:05] jobs in the country. But did they not test her out? Did they not, you know, has she not ever done [4:10] this before? Did they not have her step in front of a podium before, you know, giving, giving this [4:16] a swing? It was a very strange briefing. And I think it made Caroline Levitt look like James Madison [4:21] as far as being an orator. So I'm not sure how long she's going to last. I think Donald Trump [4:27] really prizes, you know, the ability to speak to the press, the ability to communicate on camera. [4:32] And maybe this was just the first day jitters. Maybe she'll bring it back tomorrow. But [4:36] it doesn't appear that she has those same kind of oratorical skills that I think you need in a [4:41] White House press secretary. Ron, the questions that Sawyer just asked about the vetting that was [4:46] done here, he is not the only one asking those questions. There have been a lot of questions [4:50] about how she got this job, whether she embellished or lied about being a lawyer. Just take a listen. [4:56] The bar exam. She's an attorney. Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state? [5:04] Which state? Tell us. Where did you pass the bar exam? [5:08] Mr. President. [5:08] Ron, what do we know about her background exactly? [5:14] Well, on her LinkedIn profile, she says she graduated from Pepperdine Law School. And [5:19] in response, she eventually suggested it sounded like based on the audio that was captured that [5:23] she said that she passed the bar exam before she went to China, which was in 2011, where according [5:29] to her LinkedIn profile, she worked for a Chinese law firm for two years. The subsect newsletter, [5:35] popular information reported that there is not apparent that she passed the bar exam in any state [5:41] in the U.S. or in Washington, D.C. And that's where that opportunity to ask her was sort of open [5:48] ended there. And it does not appear that the president had specifics. And look, anybody can play [5:53] the role of press secretary. But I think that part of this is also a serious question as to [5:58] the extent to which she has peddled conspiracy theories and whether she is an active attorney or [6:04] not. And the extent to which she has deep legal background or not. She is somebody that has peddled [6:10] in on factual information and has propagated it. And somebody that has done a great deal of commentating [6:17] on TV to peddle those conspiracy theories and now is serving in the important capacity in which she [6:22] speaks on behalf of a president of the United States who far and away often lies and does not [6:27] stick to the actual facts. Von Hilliard, thank you so much for being with us. It is so good to have you [6:32] back. Hey, it's Rachel. I am so glad to see you at the end of that clip, because this is where I get [6:37] to tell you about a new way to watch all our clips and all of our shows and everything on MSNOW on your [6:44] phone or your tablet or your laptop. You can watch things live or recorded. Plus, you can ask me and [6:49] all the other hosts and reporters questions in our weekly live chats. You can go to ms.now [6:55] slash membership or just click below. Thanks.