Fox Host Gives Trump’s New Mouthpiece an Ominous Warning

Terry Wyatt / Getty Images for 2521 Entertainm Newly minted White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is getting pointers from her predecessors ahead of her first press briefing this week.

Fox News host Dana Perino, who served as White House press secretary under George W.

Bush, warned that Zacharia could be heading into a particularly tough stretch, with the midterm elections just over three weeks away and Republicans expected to face doom at the ballot box.

“Just take it from me, I was press secretary the last two years of a second term.

Those are usually very tough years, especially if the midterms don’t go your way,” Perino, 54, said.

Perino also cautioned Zacharia, 41, that the role involves far more off-camera work than many expect.

“What people see is the hour that you’re briefing a day.

But what they don’t realize is the 23 other hours of the day is when all of the other work happens, and there’s a ton of that to do,” Perino explained.

“You’re responding to press requests, you’re getting briefed, you’re with the president, you’re having to know a lot about everything.

Perino, 54, also explained that when she was at the podium, she felt as though she spent half of her time defending the president’s policies and his administration, and the other half defending the rights of the free press.

Perino also noted that part of the job is having good relationships with reporters off-camera, in order to get things running smoothly.

Trump announced via Truth Social on Sunday that Zacharia will hold her first press briefing on Tuesday.

She is replacing Karoline Leavitt, who left the White House in August.

“Katie has been with me, in spirit, from the very beginning, and will do a fantastic job!” he said in his announcement.