Maria Bartiromo, aka the “MAGA Money Dummy,” left Fox News on Thursday after 12 years of lying on its airwaves, resulting in shockwaves throughout the MAGA world. Bartiromo has long been a favorite of Trump’s, with him frequently calling into her show, Mornings with Maria, to spew a fresh new pack of propaganda-fueled untruths about the economy, the Iran War, and everything else without a single challenge from one of his most loyal media subjects.
That’s why speculation began immediately that she might be Trump’s pick to replace Karoline “KKKaroline” Leavitt as White House press secretary, even as another Trump-pet, CNN’s Scott Jennings, is also rumored to be in the running. And while some insiders aren’t stoked at the thought of that whiny, smug jerk acting as the Voice of Their False God, whoever ends up in the role — and there’s allegedly “no clear favorite” at the moment — they’re going to be even worse than KKKaroline.
The youngest press secretary in history, KKKaroline’s damaging tenure lasted an impressive 19 months before she first took maternity leave and then decided to make that leave permanent. Her reasons for leaving seemed murky, but it was rumored that jealousy between Leavitt and Trump’s Wet Nurse, Natalie Harp, was a major factor in the decision.
It may also be that Karoline learned what it was like to be forced to go back to work far sooner than a new mom can handle; she wasn’t in his employ when her first kid was born, so this might have been a huge reality check for her. Trump famously frowns upon anything related to pregnancy and postpartum care, especially when they interfere with his sex life; he cheated on Melania in the late stages of her pregnancy with Barron, most famously with Stormy Daniels just days after Barron was born.
Like most things related to the Trump Regime, we’re never getting a fully honest answer to any questions. In KKKaroline’s absence, the press briefings have been led by a revolving cast of liars like Dr. Mehmet Oz. Thursday’s briefing was led by Vice President JD “Vladimir Futon” Vance, who shouldn’t have the time to do anything outside of his normal duties. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were never dispatched to perform something so clearly beneath their stations when they were the VP, but hey, it’s MAGA world, so nothing has to make sense.
There’s been little to no urgency shown from the press office to find a permanent replacement. At the moment, Communications Director Steven “Oddjob” Cheung is in charge of the daily operations regarding the press, which is like letting a small child drive an 18-wheeler. This is just one example of how Oddjob, who apparently decided book learnin’ wasn’t for him at a very young age, “communicates” from the White House.
It may make sense to some people to have Bartiromo or Jennings, former members of the media, as the White House Press Secretary. The whole “I used to be one of you” could create a more level playing field, if only Trump hadn’t already vandalized the media and poisoned the people’s trust. Someone with experience working in the media definitely understands how it operates, but if their experience is just telling lies on Fox or CNN, that should count against them, not for them.
The press secretary also does A LOT more than just hold press briefings, which they’re supposed to do every day. They’re in charge of writing and distributing press releases, official statements, talking points, speeches, and media advisories, all while collaborating with their staff and senior advisors. They literally decide what the public is told about the policies being crafted by their administration. We have no way of knowing how many lies Karoline told the world from her privileged position, and whoever takes her place is just going to keep Americans in the dark about what the Trump regime is deliberating doing to destroy our democracy. We already know that Trump will install a loyalist who’ll lie for him and call any story he doesn’t like “fake news.” We have to ignore what they say and watch what they do, no matter who they are.
With the speculation around Bartiromo, Jennings, and others mentioned for the gig, like Alina Habba and the current Deputy Press Secretary, Anna Kelly, we have to have someone in place to call them out, like an instant response to the State of the Union every day.
Which means Democrats need to step up and create a role for a Democratic Press Secretary.
I’ve written about this very recently.
Aside from all of the obvious reasons as to why Democrats should have already had a Democratic press secretary in place, we learned on Thursday that Speaker Jesus Freak Mike Johnson is recessing the House for the last two weeks of September so that nobody can bring a vote to the floor about the Epstein Files.
Democrats need to take those two weeks and start having daily press briefings. We have TWO MONTHS until the midterms, and we’re not capitalizing on any momentum at the moment, even with the Republicans in full disarray. Things have gotten so bad for Trump that dozens of officials are skipping his “midterm RNC” (which most Americans haven’t heard about) in Dallas, even those in competitive races, because they don’t want to be associated with yet another failed Trump vanity project.
=You know who would have a blast blasting Trump over that failure?
A DEMOCRATIC PRESS SECRETARY.
Our DPS would be smart, clever, crafty, and imbued with a thick skin and a great sense of humor. They’d welcome all members of the media, even the weirdo from Mike Pillow’s “network” and anyone else from the right wing, because they’d have nothing to hide and no need to manipulate any facts.
MAKE IT SO ASAP, DNC!
