‘She Can Barely Read’: New Trump Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Faceplants in First Briefing

[u/Aggravating_Money992]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/katie-zacharia-debut-briefing

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[u/MaximumEffort433]

America's long national embarrassment continues apace.

[u/T33CH33R → u/MaximumEffort433]

Right wing meritocracy at its finest.

[u/colluphid42 → u/T33CH33R]

This is what happens when you hire people based on how much they look like your daughter.

[u/PhilDGlass → u/colluphid42]

I mean she also had great maga qualifications; Brietbart, NewsMax, Fox, law degree from, um, China.

[u/PM_Me_Your_Kinks369 → u/PhilDGlass]

Ask her to speak Chinese. Not that it even matters given law degrees in other countries mean nothing to the US. But can she even speak Chinese or have a documented history of living and studying there??

[u/doodle02 → u/PM_Me_Your_Kinks369]

whoah, calm down there. let’s have her prove she can speak english first.

[u/sodapopkevin → u/PM_Me_Your_Kinks369]

Someone, I think it was on Substack, checked all 50 states plus DC and she hasn't passed the bar anywhere in the US.

[u/HapticSloughton → u/sodapopkevin]

And just a reminder that the Trump Administration wants to strip law school oversight from the American Bar Association, since no MAGA lawyer can pass the bar in under five attempts.

[u/Asleep-Sprinkles4616 → u/PhilDGlass]

Her law degree is from Pepperdine. She mentioned China when asked in which state she passed the bar exam.

[u/StoppableHulk → u/Asleep-Sprinkles4616]

Ok well thats a cookie company so clearly fake

[u/Confident-Seesaw-707 → u/StoppableHulk]

Pepperdine Farms remembers

[u/kent_eh → u/PhilDGlass]

I mean she also had great maga qualifications;

Blonde?

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/kent_eh]

Blonde with no credentials, awful makeup, and back alley lip injections.

[u/Lone-Frequency → u/T33CH33R]

Right Wing Mediocrity on full display as usual.

[u/whichonespink04 → u/Lone-Frequency]

Overestimation of the century, except maybe every Trump estimation of his own abilities. There's nothing mediocre about anything GOP except maybe gifting ability. Otherwise, all execrable all the way down.

[u/AnybodyMassive1610 → u/MaximumEffort433]

Well, my days of not taking this administration seriously are certainly coming to a middle.

[u/Caucasian_Fury → u/AnybodyMassive1610]

Unexpected Firefly quotes/references are what makes my day.

[u/Dense_Pasttime_3114 → u/MaximumEffort433]

The embarrassment has only just begun

[u/Tall-Reaction-4069 → u/MaximumEffort433]

Century of humiliation

[u/EnslavedBandicoot]

The great thing about Trump is he hires incompetent nitwits because those are the only people left who are willing to be thrown under the bus when he inevitably needs someone else to blame.

[u/MyWhiteNameIsAndy → u/EnslavedBandicoot]

Well remember, he publicly said he doesn’t like to hire people smarter than him. He doesn’t like being around smart people

[u/red286 → u/MyWhiteNameIsAndy]

He said that he didn't manage to accomplish anything in his first term because the assistants and cabinet members who were recommended for him by the Republican committee "all thought they knew better than me", and determined that during his second term, he would "always be the smartest guy in the room".

Unlike literally anything else in this term, on that count I'd have to say "mission fucking accomplished".

[u/7empest-tost → u/MyWhiteNameIsAndy]

“Smart people don’t like me”

[u/Interesting_Berry439 → u/EnslavedBandicoot]

His discards seem to land jobs with faux or boozemax for a big income.

[u/DarbIey]

It's so funny you can tell who Trump's "type" is and it's the most boring, USA prescribed BEACH BABES! on earth.

100% there are notes that say "look up and smile".

"Booming economy" LOL Who buys this shit?

[u/ExamineTheUnder → u/DarbIey]

Pretty sure he just thinks this is what his type is supposed to be. His actual type is redacted.

[u/ARookwood → u/ExamineTheUnder]

Yeah she’s a bit old for him.

[u/AnAncientBog → u/ExamineTheUnder]

I actually think even his known predilections are a bit performative. Like he thinks this is what he is supposed to be into, so he does it, but any time he describes some big muscly sweaty man and just sorta gets lost in the detail its pretty clear what really excites him.

[u/Sidereel → u/AnAncientBog]

I’ve heard of this as a feature of narcissism. There’s a difference between being into blondes, and wanting to be the guy who dates blondes as a symbol of status.

[u/DarbIey → u/ExamineTheUnder]

Right. He's either a moron, or disingenuous about sexuality. I mean, the man loves ballrooms and Broadway.

[u/McGarnacIe → u/DarbIey]

His press secretaries all look like Ivanka. What a coincidence.

[u/DredPRoberts → u/DarbIey]

"Booming economy" LOL Who buys this shit?

Her lies are more believable because she doesn't know she's lying.

[u/dirtygrandpa → u/DarbIey]

It's not funny, it's legitimately damaging your country. I can't see how the USA can come back from this and be taken seriously, when it so clearly does not take itself seriously internally.

[u/TorpeAlex → u/dirtygrandpa]

Hey so a lot of us are in the, "Laugh morosely at the landfill fire that has engulfed the neighborhood" phase of our nation's development. Don't mistake it for apathy, it's one of many coping mechanisms we've discovered over the past few decades

[u/goodfreeman]

I haven't watched or listened to any of these press briefings because I just can't take the amount of bullshit that gets spewed, but listening to this, it is clear that they work for TRUMP, not the American people in any way. They are the mouthpiece for his lies, exaggerations, and personal ego boosts. It's north Korea level gaslighting and it highlights our rapid decent into authoritarianism. Holy hell we have sunk so low.

[u/Gluverty → u/goodfreeman]

yeah starting off by praising the size of the rally crowds brings me a bit of comfort as to how desperate they are

[u/PhilDGlass → u/Gluverty]

took me back to Spicier day for sure.

[u/jotobean → u/goodfreeman]

She is the mouth of Sauron, in the flesh.

[u/TheCraftBrew → u/jotobean]

Nah the mouth of Sauron was waaay more competent.

[u/DuMbAsS_lOsEr_6_7 → u/goodfreeman]

He could've just thrown Natalie out there at the podium

[u/dramaking37 → u/DuMbAsS_lOsEr_6_7]

She can't press conference and give diaper jobs at the same time

[u/Androidgenus → u/goodfreeman]

Trump put his personal attorney as the head of the DOJ

[u/lozo78 → u/Androidgenus]

Imagine if Biden had done that (or any of the other million things). The hypocrisy is astounding.

[u/Shatsngiggles → u/goodfreeman]

Alot of people forget that 2 of the first things trump did at the start of his first term was go have little secret meetings with Putin and Kim. He became president and then went to get advice from the top two most recognized dictators of the world.

[u/ranchoparksteve]

“I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the US should help the US or should help South Africa or should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we can be able to build up our future.”

[u/milfordcubicle → u/ranchoparksteve]

That sentence gave me a prehistoric disease.

[u/ScarletCarsonRose → u/milfordcubicle]

Well the tundra is thawing with all sorts of pathogens not seen in 1000's of years so that kind of tracks.

[u/saln1 → u/milfordcubicle]

My parents would tell me they saw it live on tv, can’t believe she said that. Nerves probably

[u/LocalforNow → u/saln1]

Your PARENTS?

Is this my sign to start a geriatric fitness regimen or like

[u/shabby47 → u/LocalforNow]

A little while ago someone posted their 10 year old kindle fire in the nostalgia sub and said “I can’t believe my parents let me play with this when I was 2” and now I need to get off the internet

[u/piko4664-dfg → u/LocalforNow]

Well some peoples, suck as like, older peoples in Ethiopia don’t have shirts and therefore thus they can’t work out geriatrics like having them would help build shirts so that they can sweat, like China, such as the US thus I believe we should offer geriatrics workout shirts as some in Austria do not have them for the people and like that is what I believe

[u/Bears_On_Stilts → u/piko4664-dfg]

Thank you, Secretary Charlie Kelly.

[u/DBJenkinss → u/Bears_On_Stilts]

So doooo.

[u/Strawbalicious → u/LocalforNow]

I just want to downvote the person youre replying to for making me feel old. Resisting the urge but damn

[u/IT_Chef → u/saln1]

Dude I'm 43, I feel old as fuck thanks to your comment, and I remember this like it was yesterday

Time to wheel me off to the nursing home I guess lol

[u/Yourponydied → u/IT_Chef]

Can we have a halo Lan party?

[u/Immediate_Race_6344 → u/saln1]

Your parents? lol 😂 nothing made me feel so old today

[u/WafflePartyOrgy → u/milfordcubicle]

White House is going to release a statement that this translates to "I believe the children are our future."

[u/z0mb0rg → u/ranchoparksteve]

I will never ever forget the string of words “and the Iraq everywhere like such as”

[u/CalmTheAngryVoice → u/z0mb0rg]

I will never not forget that string of words because it sounds like the slurrings of a drunk uncle.

[u/Nervous-Salamander-7 → u/CalmTheAngryVoice]

Surely not THIS uncle: "Look, having nuclear — my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart — you know, if you're a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I'm one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it's true! — but when you're a conservative Republican they try — oh, do they do a number — that's why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune — you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we're a little disadvantaged — but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me — it would have been so easy, and it's not as important as these lives are — nuclear is so powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what's going to happen and he was right, who would have thought? — but when you look at what's going on with the four prisoners — now it used to be three, now it's four — but when it was three and even now, I would have said it's all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don't, they haven't figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it's gonna take them about another 150 years — but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us, this is horrible."

[u/Chary-Ka → u/ranchoparksteve]

April 25th. Because it's not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket.

[u/NYCQuilts → u/Chary-Ka]

Wild that this is more coherent than anything the actual human said.

[u/kaitlyncaffeine → u/Chary-Ka]

Don’t compare Miss Rhode Island to this piece of trash

[u/SquirtBox → u/Chary-Ka]

Ahh Miss Rhode Island. Or, for the MAGA, Road iLand

[u/mGlottalstop → u/Chary-Ka]

Miss Rhode Island was a nuclear physics grad student, don't forget! 😂

This is... something else entirely!

[u/colgi61 → u/Chary-Ka]

It's the perfect date.

[u/Worduptothebirdup → u/ranchoparksteve]

Five seconds in and my response was, “did they hire Miss South Carolina???”

[u/donkeyrocket → u/Worduptothebirdup]

Worse. Her only career accomplishment of note is Newsmax commenter.

[u/pimparo0 → u/donkeyrocket]

Not even an anchor? 

[u/coconutpiecrust → u/pimparo0]

Can’t have that. An anchor might have to be able to read. 

[u/accforme → u/coconutpiecrust]

I'm Ron Burgundy?

[u/fusillade762 → u/Worduptothebirdup]

Man, I actually thought op was mocking quoting the Miss SC bit...you saying this is a quote from the new press secretary?

[u/SoggyBoysenberry7703 → u/fusillade762]

No you’re right, it’s the quote from Miss SC

[u/Previous_South2756 → u/ranchoparksteve]

It is giving Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin.

[u/No_Succotash473 → u/Previous_South2756]

In the skits where everything Fey said was a Palin quote.

[u/AlpineAvalanche → u/ranchoparksteve]

Tbf she did emphasize why education is important, just not maybe how she meant to.

[u/flcl021 → u/ranchoparksteve]

Hey, to be fair we could only afford half the alphabet in South Carolina. She was doing the best she could./s

[u/HobbesMich → u/flcl021]

I thought I was reading a passage from 2007 Miss Teen South Carolina.

[u/luv2ctheworld → u/ranchoparksteve]

That lady probably feels better about her answer to the judges now that she's seen what the White House is currently offering.

[u/jacobkuhn92 → u/ranchoparksteve]

Why does my left arm hurt?
Why do I smell toast?

[u/Wiltonator → u/ranchoparksteve]

What? Is that real?

[u/MoistProlapse → u/Wiltonator]

Yes, it's real. But it's Caitlin Upton, when she was Miss Teen NorthSouth Carolina 2007, answering a question that, honestly, I have no clue what it even was because that answer doesn't actually answer anything.

Edit: Fixed the state and competition.

[u/exoFACTOR → u/MoistProlapse]

Why cant [X%] of US children find [somewhere] on maps?

Her answer: because they don't have maps.

[u/SilverOcean6 → u/ranchoparksteve]

Is this verbatim? If so my god....

[u/theMistersofCirce → u/SilverOcean6]

I can't believe this is from almost 20 years ago. Anyway, it's a treat for anyone who hasn't seen it:

https://youtu.be/lj3iNxZ8Dww

[u/neo_sporin → u/theMistersofCirce]

i honestly thought the OP person was telling me it was the same woman. I was a bit disappointed when it turned out this is someone else.

[u/SyN_Pool → u/neo_sporin]

Whelp..time to yell at these kids on my lawn

[u/FixinThePlanet → u/theMistersofCirce]

20???? Nooo

[u/fukredditadm1n5 → u/theMistersofCirce]

Lmao, Mario Lopez's smile at the end is priceless 🤣

[u/caserock → u/SilverOcean6]

That's verbatim Ms. South Carolina

[u/awmaleg → u/caserock]

“The Iraq”

[u/Sir_Clarence_III_Esq → u/awmaleg]

and everywhere like, such as.

[u/ReadingTheRealms → u/ranchoparksteve]

Wow hadn’t read that in a while. Early internet memeage. Probably best to include the attribution though because folks are assuming the new dumbass actually said this.

[u/PalpatineForEmperor → u/ranchoparksteve]

I can't here to post the same thing. This is gold.

[u/turningsteel → u/ranchoparksteve]

I just had a stroke reading that

[u/MoroseBizarro → u/ranchoparksteve]

First thing I thought of is that this sounds like a pageant speech like such as Miss America and such like as Miss Teen Trump Target. :P

[u/_Doodad_]

So Daddy Trump picked this, ummm, person based on - what exactly?

[u/Cool-Tangelo6548 → u/_Doodad_]

Loyalty and she is pretty to look at (in his opinion)

[u/JoeChio → u/Cool-Tangelo6548]

She looks like a flight attendant who downs the travel vodkas and three packs of cigs every shift. Do people honestly think she is attractive?

[u/Cool-Tangelo6548 → u/JoeChio]

Republicans do. Look at conservative women. They all look like that.

[u/shupadupah → u/Cool-Tangelo6548]

It's a real phenomenon called Mar a Lago face

[u/CatalyticDragon → u/shupadupah]

An explanation by an ex-member : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dbF5eub05o

[u/-Esper- → u/JoeChio]

Hes been picking press secretarys that kinda resemble Ivanka

[u/New_Ad3443 → u/JoeChio]

The GOP and MAGA think of woman as second class citizens who have to torture themselves to look like barbie knockoffs. Oh and they have to serve men as well (look at how males in the MAGA movement look at and treat woman FYI). 

[u/djanes376 → u/JoeChio]

She could be an air hostess in the sixties, or a part time model, but she'd probably have to keep her normal job.

[u/Tephranis → u/_Doodad_]

Because she looks a whole lot like his daughter and we all know what he thinks about Ivanka.

[u/yngwiegiles → u/_Doodad_]

Nice to look at like if you were a drooling nursery home geriatric.

[u/Cantomic66 → u/_Doodad_]

He probably saw her on Newsmax.

[u/AnalBumCovers]

I wonder which young blonde woman that reminds trump of his daughter will be the next press secretary

[u/PiskoWK]

1/3 of Americans can't read or comprehend above a 6th grade level. So, she's actually representative of them.

[u/KapahuluBiz → u/PiskoWK]

It's worse than that:

56% of U.S. adults score below Level 3, the level researchers often equate with a sixth-grade reading level.

Source: National Literacy Institute

We are a pathetically stupid populace, which is how the Republican party has managed to survive.

[u/Pace_Salsa_Comment → u/KapahuluBiz]

Yep. I believe the 1/3 figure is how many American adults are funtionally illiterate.

[u/SwimmingThroughHoney → u/Pace_Salsa_Comment]

The functionally illiterate part is honestly more scary than simply not being able to read above a certain level. That has real (negative) effects on every-day lives and incurs a measurable cost in society.

Grade-level comprehension can be addressed by just lowering the technicality of the writing:

12th grade level: Photosynthesis is a fundamental biochemical pathway by which photoautotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy, driving the global carbon cycle. Occurring primarily within the chloroplasts of plant cells, the process is divided into two main stages: the light-dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle.

6th-grade level: Plants have an amazing superpower: they can make their own food using sunlight! This process is called photosynthesis. To do this, plants need three main things: sunlight, water from the soil, and a gas from the air called carbon dioxide.

It's another thing to read this:

Take one tablet every twelve hours with food, and do not exceed two doses in a twenty-four-hour period.

And genuinely not understand that "every twelve hours" mean once at 8am and again at 8pm. Which means probably with breakfast and then again with dinner. It means not understanding the logic behind "do not exceed two doses in a 24-hour period" (and therefore not being able to infer why you shouldn't double up on an evening dose if you miss the morning one).

[u/ReverendDizzle → u/SwimmingThroughHoney]

Your medicine example is a good one because it really drives at what the cost of being functionally illiterate ultimately is:

People who are functionally illiterate cannot navigate life without assistance. In the case of the medicine instructions being indecipherable to them... they need to have it explained to them by a doctor or pharmacist in a way that they can understand. Or they need someone in their life who will read the documentation and protect them from themselves.

But left to their own devices they lack the ability to do basic stuff most of us take for granted like reading: the instructions that come with our medication, the fine print on the parking ticket that explains how to get it waived or how high the fees will be at X, Y, and Z days if we don't deal with it, the wording of a lease and what it means, and so on and so on.

[u/Teasing_Pink → u/SwimmingThroughHoney]

I was curious, so I threw your 6th grade example into a readability checker. Depending on which formula is used, it goes from 7th grade (Flesch Kincaid) all the way to 13th/College (Dale-Chall).

Which is to say, the fact that even your easier example is technically too complex is absolutely harrowing, and I completely agree with you.

[u/sirfiddlestix → u/Teasing_Pink]

It's because it has too many multisyllabic words and too much punctuation. I think you can only have one or two two-syllable words per paragraph for it to be less than 9th grade. Plus, any kind of sentence extender is a no-no. It's actually really difficult to get certain subjects to a sixth grade level or below.

[u/Hybodont → u/Pace_Salsa_Comment]

...funtionally illiterate.

Does that mean they don't know how to party?

[u/Pace_Salsa_Comment → u/Hybodont]

Ha! Dang it! Of all the comments to get the spelling wrong...

[u/WhyAmINotStudying → u/KapahuluBiz]

My favorite thing is when someone wants to talk about their conspiracy theories with me, but when I respond with logic and reason, I become a distrusted person who has been corrupted by academia.

Yup. Being able to think makes me the idiot.

[u/DelayedTism → u/WhyAmINotStudying]

The literacy statistics really helped me stop bothering to argue with people about shit. Like there's a solid chance the person I'm talking to isn't even able to comprehend my words, so what's the point lol

[u/Nitrofox87 → u/KapahuluBiz]

Alot of people would be upset reading this, if they weren't too busy trying to figure out what nasal spray has to do with reading level

[u/kvlt_ov_personality → u/KapahuluBiz]

Just a heads up, the "National Literacy Institute" is not an official government organization, they're a private business that offers tutoring services.

The statistic they're referencing is from a study that actually shows the U.S. is ahead of France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy and Spain. We are tied or one point way from a tie with Canada, Korea, and the UK.

https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/ideuspiaac/report.aspx?p=3-LNP-1-20123-PVLIT-TOTAL-IN2,AUT,CAN,CHL,CZE,DNK,EST,FIN,FRA,DEU,GRC,IRL,ISR,ITA,JPN,NLD,NZL,NOR,POL,KOR,SVK,SVN,ESP,SWE,TUR,USA,BEL,GBR,CYP,LTU,SGP-MN_MN-Y_J-0-0-37&Lang=1033

[u/GrimRipper82 → u/PiskoWK]

Yep, and we know exactly which 1/3 of Americans can't read by who they voted for.

[u/xaxiomatikx → u/PiskoWK]

They are called Trump voters

[u/NChSh → u/PiskoWK]

Except she has a law degree from Pepperdine! I looked it up, they're 46th in the country. She was outside counsel for the World Bank and lived in Beijing for years! Directly from law school graduation. Like she should be worldly, I don't get it. She's ostensibly not some moron they are putting out there to show contempt to the press corps.

[u/Icy_Reward727 → u/NChSh]

Clearly she was near the bottom of the class. There's always a squeaker or two.  I think I'm going to call her "squeaker."

[u/NYCQuilts → u/NChSh]

The World Bank out here hiring lawyers who don’t belong to a bar?

[u/sugarlessdeathbear]

I can't wait for the day when the Press Secretary needs help at the podium to sound out words.

[u/mediocre_remnants → u/sugarlessdeathbear]

I'm fully expecting a virtual AI press secretary next. It'll be a very bimbo'd out blonde with exaggerated Mar a Lago face. And at some point it'll glitch out and start reciting one of Hitler's speeches in German while giving Nazi salutes.

[u/jahathebrn → u/mediocre_remnants]

I don't think that'd necessarily be a glitch in this case but otherwise spot on

[u/SeCaNevasse]

Kayleigh McEnany

Karoline Leavitt

Katie Zacharia

You thought we wouldn't notice but we did.

[u/Rex_Mundi → u/SeCaNevasse]

Kristi Lynn Arnold-Noem

[u/hughjazz45]

I thought people were exaggerating but I just watched it and my god

[u/ThoseOldScientists → u/hughjazz45]

The moments when she seems to lose confidence in what she’s saying halfway through speaking are… nourishing.

[u/mashtato → u/hughjazz45]

She looked like a high-schooler up there... Like when you make your classmate who didn't do any of the work give the presentation in front of the class.

[u/flyingbookman]

And why was she dressed like a flight attendant?

[u/QuillnSofa → u/flyingbookman]

She was hired for her credentials, obviously.

[u/SR337 → u/flyingbookman]

I thought she was dressed like she was getting ready for a three hour tour (where this entire administration belongs)

[u/DShKM]

I'd be so fucking embarrassed if I was an American and that's who's getting paraded out to represent the administration. Like Jesus fucking Christ, anti-intelectualism is destroying you guys at a rapid pace, and I'll say we're not even immune to it up here. It's really bad.

[u/Popular_Biscotti405 → u/DShKM]

Brother you have no idea how bad it actually is. I’ve had to explain to grown adults about object permanence. I’ve had to explain that the Sun and the moon are not the same size. I’ve had someone ask me when the 4th of July is.

It is unbelievable to me how stupid the people that I’m forced to interact with are.

[u/PM_me_the_bootyhole → u/Popular_Biscotti405]

My coworker saw me reading a book by the pool on a work trip and said “look at this smarty pants”. I was embarrassed for him and just sad.

[u/Giff13 → u/PM_me_the_bootyhole]

I was collecting plastics to recycle and I had a coworker say oh you're one of those people..

OK?

[u/Honest_World_3561 → u/Giff13]

I am hated by many at work for the sin of putting plastic in the plastics recycling bin. Though they will cheerfully toss their leftover food in it. People have become so weird.

[u/mysteryofthefieryeye → u/Popular_Biscotti405]

I permanently object to the Republican Party, is that a form of object permanence?

[u/treasonousToaster180 → u/Popular_Biscotti405]

My sister in law told us all a few months ago that she isn't sure dinosaurs existed. We had been to the museum like a month prior. Like girl we saw the bones

[u/AtticusFinchsMom → u/treasonousToaster180]

My bestie thinks the earth is flat and the moon landing is fake.

I weep for her ignorance, and cognitive dissonance. I can hardly talk to her right now.
I don't know how to get through to her.

FWIW, we both went to the same high school. It's in a very affluent district in Minnesota.

Her older sister is MAGA too, and a school teacher with a master's degree. She also attended the same high school as we did. She knows the earth is not flat, and the moon landing is real.

[u/lustywench99 → u/treasonousToaster180]

We found this out about my former step mother AT the museum. She gave no signs. She didn’t even go to church. Then she spouted off that nonsense. My dad and I were horrified.

Fun fact, we both divorced our spouses soon after… and both of us had many reasons but that museum trip kind of sealed the deal. He’d married a psycho and I’d married an idiot who didn’t know King Tutankhamen was also King Tut. I mean, that’s not the whole reason I got divorced. But like… standing in mixed company at the event and that’s your contribution, asking if we’d heard of King Tut and then having to be told yeah, that’s literally what you just saw? Whew.

But yeah no, the dinosaur thing was the most egregious of the day. She couldn’t look at any of them because they were lies. And dinosaurs are my special interest. Never once said a thing until she saw her first fossil and then boom. Unbeliever.

[u/VRS302 → u/Popular_Biscotti405]

Tide goes in, tide goes out. Can’t explain that.

[u/tamil_boy → u/Popular_Biscotti405]

These are small cows, those ones are far away.

[u/missprincesscarolyn → u/DShKM]

I’ve only ever been to Alberta and in this was in 2024, but my ex and I saw a weird MAGA-esque tent on be side of the road with people selling merch of some kind (not sure if actually MAGA or just conservative). They made a scarecrow out of Trudeau and ripped his head off!

To be fair, we were on a more rural stretch and had stopped to get gas. It was very odd though.

[u/Admirable-Band-2664 → u/DShKM]

You’ll get your dose up there, just wait. You are going to be absolutely amazed by how incredibly effective right-wing media is. At first you’ll think “no one will ever buy this shit”, next some guy in the grocery line is going to be talking about liberal politicians drinking children’s blood. It’s insane. You guys are already getting your own batshit crazy politicians right? And isn’t right wing media catching hold? It’ll slowly strangle everything…

It seems like it’ll never happen and it’s so incredibly dumb and there’s no way the people you’re surrounded by, people you may respect and admire, would actually get caught up in this. Then suddenly it’s at your door.

Everything is moving right and idk, it seems to appeal to base nature of general humanity, with education, curiosity, and actual effort to examine yourself and the world around you as seemingly the only cure. Right wing media offers a much easier way to see the world and feel innocent, superior, and happy while doing it. It also lets you feel like any anger you have about your situation isn’t just justified, it’s patriotic! And any vengeance you might want, no matter how extreme or crazy, is a great idea! It’s a drug, it’s a release, it’s therapy, it’s a religion, it’s absolution…and it’s so easy, just tune in at 5!

[u/Rich_Celebration477]

Caroline was evil, but she was pretty damned good at her job as the mouthpiece for this administration. While most of them were completely incompetent, I always thought she was on point when it came to shoving talking points down people’s throats and never letting a single negative comment stand.

[u/LilLebowskiAchiever → u/Rich_Celebration477]

Yeah she was the Leni Riefenstahl of PR. Both were highly skilled, but neither deserved respect.

[u/bostonterrierteapart → u/Rich_Celebration477]

Karoline is (unfortunately), a really effective communicator. Especially if your definition is being good at gaslighting and monopolizing the conversation. As much as I despise her, sometimes I’d be like damn, I wish I could talk that confidently and bullshit that well (I’m in sales lol). She really was the perfect person for their agenda. On an administration level, she’s probably the only one qualified for the position, which is really fucked up if you think about it. Anyway, definitely not glazing her, she’s a shit human being who happens to be a good public speaker.

[u/TrumpsDoubleChin]

One side of me wants to think, hey, first day jitters, give her a mulligan.

Then I remember, hey, this is supposed to be the spokesperson for the most important job in the world - there should be ZERO learning curve, and anyone hired for the position should be highly experienced and ready to go on day zero.

Screw her.

[u/rogue_licker → u/TrumpsDoubleChin]

As a PhD biologist riddled with imposter syndrome and who has a job interview tomorrow worried about not being expert enough, I just fucking cannot even conceive of the existence of people like these.

Like, I would panic to death at the idea of having to do that job under so much attention and scrutiny without having a single clue about how to fucking do it properly.

It’s not an administration anymore, it’s a fucking sect where all that counts is Trump’s approval, not doing a good job.

[u/supercali45]

This is why a bunch of GOP reps like Rubio get coked up before speaking

[u/Rhobaz]

Anyone want to place bets on how long it’ll be til she goes full fucked up mar a lago face?

[u/Myplantsaredead67 → u/Rhobaz]

Looks like she's already begun the transformation

[u/One-Earth9294 → u/Rhobaz]

Looks up

I think that was a minute ago. We have buccal fat removal and lip fillers and way too much fucking eye makeup already in swing.

[u/StatelyTree → u/Rhobaz]

She already has it lol. In other pics, it looks like her face is melting off

[u/SpecialistChance0 → u/Rhobaz]

When’s the next full moon?

[u/KneeDeepInThe-Hoopla]

So painful to watch, it almost felt like it was a spoof or skit of some sort.

This lady reminds me of an amalgamation of Noem and Bondi, who was given elocution lessons and coached in the art of charisma by none other than Mr Personality himself Vance, reading comprehension lessons are being given by whoever is tasked with bringing RFK Jr up to the national third class/grade average.

[u/mishma2005]

He's gonna stop doing press briefings, watch

[u/SockMonkeyKid → u/mishma2005]

I think that is pretty much a given. There really isn’t going to be a downside for him and he will just double down on posting to his personal Pravda site.

[u/Greizen_bregen]

I can't even make it through these videos. They are all imbeciles. I don't encounter people this stupid in daily life. What the fuck is going on??

[u/ApartInfluence4429]

They all look like strung out 90s drag queens 

[u/robot_pirate]

It's hard to imagine that a press secretary could be so unvetted. Did she not have a reel? And how did she pass a WH background check if they can't even verify her claim of being a lawyer?

[u/No_Presentation1242 → u/robot_pirate]

You must know that this administration is completely incompetent at every single thing by now. I mean they completely botched filling up a pool.

[u/Box_of_rodents → u/robot_pirate]

Because she’s an Ivanka clone and likely selected by the Orange one.

[u/Expert-Caramel-7817 → u/robot_pirate]

The same way ice agents get hired.

[u/Tactical_Hotdog]

"New Yorker theater critic Emily Nussbaum described Zacharia as “a shining role model for women crippled by imposter syndrome"

From the end of the article xD

[u/thavillain]

What happened to the meritocracy they love?

Like what kind of career is this?

• Graduated law school 2011?
• Worked as legal counsel for a bank in China...although she can't prove she ever passed a bar exam, here or in China
• Worked for NewsMax
• Worked for Homeland Security for a month before resigning
• Now she's Press Secretary

[u/augenwiehimmel]

Wtf was she trying to do? Like pronouncing each and every letter of the alphabet at random without any lick of sense?

Holy Lord, even after 2 bottles of wine I can do better than that and I'm German.

[u/Mediocre_Device308]

This is bad, even for this administration. Oh my goodness.

[u/Intelligent_Sky_7081]

But did you see how smoking hot she is? Conservative women are hot, democrat women are not. /s

edit: please take not of the /s That indicates sarcasm.

[u/Punk_Luv → u/Intelligent_Sky_7081]

Why do they all look both 55 and 30 at the same time.

[u/FlounderJealous2591 → u/Punk_Luv]

Dude I’ve been saying this for years. I don’t understand why young women get cosmetic surgery, fillers etc so that they look like a 55 year old trying to look 30.

[u/Bubbles_2025 → u/Punk_Luv]

It’s the early stages of Mar-a-Lago face.

[u/walksonfourfeet]

Did she try giggling and bending over to pick up something she dropped?

[u/No-Bicycle-7660]

"She can barely read" - this should make her very relatable to most Americans.

[u/Spudtron98]

I swear he gets these women out of a cloning lab or something.

[u/BallBearingBill]

It got worse when she went outside and the press asked her where she passed the bar exam because she claimed she was a lawyer. She said, when she went to China!

[u/lumberjackname → u/BallBearingBill]

Allegedly she went to Pepperdine Law but never passed the bar exam. I can’t wait for law school classmates to come out of the woodwork with full details.

[u/chubs66]

ok, she can barely read, but, on the other hand, her teeth are very white.

[u/DarXIV]

Another distraction from the election meddling.

[u/eskimospy212 → u/DarXIV]

I swear as we are being led into the gas chambers people on here will be like ‘the gas chambers are yet another distraction!’

These guys do not play chess. He picked her because she’s a lickspittle and she’s hot. That’s it. 

[u/dayplek]

I was waiting for her to say “and boom goes the dynamite”

[u/Calculated_r1sk]

I wanna know if that scarf was to cover up the fang marks from Miller...

[u/tiny_galaxies]

She accidentally called Trump her husband at one point.

[u/bigfatgeekboy]

I was wondering when we'd see Miss Teen South Carolina again.

[u/ubeeu]

My 4-year-old grandson did better in the Christmas play last year.

[u/kikomonarrez]

It was horrifying! I recently attended a musical performance at a HS.

The kids introduced the pieces they were going to play including a little more info on the history and style.

A couple of them were struggling to read the paragraph intros and it was EXACTLY the same as this new human press secretary.

But she’s a lawyer. Or should we say, “A concept of a lawyer”.

[u/moby0ctopad]

Same people that constantly scream about unqualified “DEI” hires btw

[u/Bellick]

She Can Barely Read

She'll fit right in!

[u/Dense_Pasttime_3114]

That’s alright she’s still more literate then your average trump supporter