Trump’s New Press Secretary Is an Incompetent Liar. She’s Also Perfect for the Job.

The Slatest An administration built on clumsy lies deserves a press secretary who’s a clumsy liar. Now Trump has one. Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images and John Lamparski/Getty Images, Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images, and Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images. This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day. There are two types of press secretaries in a Donald Trump administration: Those who lie slickly and those who lie embarrassingly. So far, Katie Zacharia, who debuted as the White House’s top spokesperson on Tuesday, is looking like the latter. The opening days of Zacharia’s tenure have been defined by questions over claims she has made about her background. She has a law degree from Pepperdine University (go Waves!) and has publicly identified herself as the “general counsel” for Fix California, a right-wing nonprofit. Trump has described Zacharia as an “attorney,” as did chyrons for TV appearances that Zacharia amplified on social media, CNN reports. Asked about her legal background on Tuesday, Zacharia claimed to have passed the bar “when I moved to China,” where she has also said she worked at a large Chinese law firm and as “outside counsel” to the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank. But foreign nationals aren’t allowed to take the bar in China, nor can they practice Chinese law. (She subsequently claimed to have misunderstood the reporter’s question.) The other shoe dropped last night, when the Wall Street Journal reported she has not passed the bar in the U.S., a revelation Zacharia seemingly confirmed on Thursday. But if Zacharia did misleadingly airbrush her credentials, it might make her the ideal spokesperson for an administration that regularly struggles to tell the truth. The president himself is the government’s main fount of misleading-at-best, mendacious-at-worst information, lies that the staffers around him then have to scramble to defend or make real. And if a press secretary willing to shamelessly deceive the public is Trump’s main requirement for the job, Zacharia is a perfect fit. That doesn’t mean she won’t run into trouble, of course. Beyond her apparently zhuzhed-up LinkedIn, Zacharia’s debut appearance as press secretary on Tuesday earned some brutal reviews. Zacharia spoke haltingly, read off notes for long stretches, took just three questions, and at one point said “my president” when she meant “my husband.” She hasn’t held an on-camera briefing since. Still, theater critics zinging Zacharia’s lack of polish are missing the point. Journalists have sometimes let themselves get ensorcelled by Trump’s more capable press secretaries, whose relative poise disguised a shameless willingness to deceive on his behalf. Some reporters praised Karoline Leavitt, whose departure in August cleared the way for Zacharia, for her professionalism while glossing over how she actually spent much of her tenure: misleading the public. It’s true that Zacharia’s job isn’t just to answer on-camera questions but also to work with reporters behind the scenes, credibly speak for the president, and paint the administration in a positive light. By that standard, her days may already be numbered. “Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot,” an administration official texted an MS NOW reporter after Zacharia’s debut. Still, the president appears to be sticking by her. “I thought she was very good,” he said Tuesday. Whether that holds is anyone’s guess. But in a perverse way, it could end up being a good thing for the rest of us if the lies coming from the briefing podium are as ham-fistedly delivered as the ones on Zacharia’s résumé. Separating rhetoric from reality has been one of this political era’s defining challenges, both for journalists and for the public. Having someone as clumsy as Zacharia for a mouthpiece makes it easier to tell which is which. Tolga Akdoğan I can’t speak for Katie Zacharia, but I’m willing to bet that you’ve earned some relaxation after a long day. For your evening entertainment, my colleagues suggest: Watching a new Oscar contender: La Bola Negra is a sprawling Spanish epic that grapples with the links between fascism and homophobia. It also features sparkling cameos from Penélope Cruz as a sultry cabaret dancer and Glenn Close as a Spanish-speaking American professor. The Odyssey has some competition for the Best Picture Oscar! Learning about gay rights before Stonewall: It’s LGBTQ+ history month, which means it’s a great moment to learn more about our queer forebears. While activists and heroes usually get most of the public’s attention, queer historian and author Timothy Stewart-Winter argues that it’s just as important to focus on the more complicated figures. He tells the story of LBJ’s right-hand man, who got arrested for bathroom cruising in 1964. The incident reveals a lot about what gay life looked like before Stonewall. Appreciating the best part of The Great British Bake Off: Cookbook author Nigella Lawson is a new judge on GBBO, and she is a breath of fresh air, according to ICYMI host Kate Lindsay. While the other judges sometimes treat dessert as something illicit, Lawson’s unabashed enthusiasm for baked goods is a welcome change. Celebrating 20 years of 30 Rock: Join Slate’s culture team in toasting Tina Fey’s iconic sitcom, which premiered 20 years ago this month. Revisit some of the show’s best jingles and parodies, appreciate Alec Baldwin’s singular performance as Jack Donaghy, and test your memory with this quiz. If you’re a 30 Rock fan looking for a similar show to enjoy, check out this ranked list of 14 spiritual successors that my colleagues and I put together. Happy watching, and see you tomorrow!