CNN —
Karoline Leavitt’s first White House press briefing reaffirmed a truism about the Trump White House: His aides perform for an “audience of one.”
That pithy phrase, portraying President Donald Trump as the viewer-in-chief, was popularized when he first took office in 2017. Back then, press secretary Sean Spicer tried – and sometimes failed – to impress Trump during televised briefings.
Leavitt seems instantly well-suited to the task. Several times during Tuesday afternoon’s debut briefing, she expertly channeled the president, and she employed many of the same rhetorical tendencies. Leavitt exaggerated just like her boss; vigorously promoted his executive actions; and demeaned former President Joe Biden.
The briefing was also reminiscent of another 2017 depiction of Trump’s communications strategy: a New York Times report that “Trump told top aides to think of each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals.”
Leavitt brought that type of energy to the briefing room – casting Trump as a savior who is singlehandedly solving the country’s problems. White House reporters speculated afterward that Trump must have been pleased with the nearly hourlong show.
However, many of the questions raised by reporters don’t lend themselves to simple answers. Several of the exchanges on Tuesday afternoon were about disruptions to federal aid programs as a result of an administration order. As Leavitt ended the briefing, a reporter yelled out, “Are Medicaid portals down in all 50 states?” One hour later, Leavitt posted on X about the outage and said the websites should “be back online shortly” – underscoring the complexity of her new position.
In the 2019 book “Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America,” New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik documented how Trump aides and allies learned to communicate with him through television broadcasts.
When Spicer held briefings, Trump “watched constantly” and “had continual notes,” Poniewozik wrote, likening Trump to an “overinvolved network executive.”
“Spicer never defended Trump strongly enough for his liking,” he wrote. “Sometimes, he would be passed slips of paper scribbled with a red Sharpie – Trump’s writing instrument of choice – and would reverse himself on the spot.”
Poniewozik also asserted that Spicer didn’t look the part. Leavitt, on the other hand, was practiced and polished on Tuesday, and Spicer cheered for her on X, the social network previously known as Twitter.
The “audience of one” concept applied to other government officials during Trump’s first term, too, and it’s clearly back in effect now.
Trump poached several Fox hosts and commentators for key positions in his administration, including border czar Tom Homan, who is now a regular guest across cable news defending Trump’s immigration policy.
In another Trump-pleasing move, Leavitt also used the first briefing to level some critiques of what she called the “legacy media.”
She said news outlets have pushed “lies” about Trump and his family and “we will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong.”
Leavitt did not make major structural changes, but she did say that a prime seat in the briefing room, previously occupied by White House press staff, would become the “new media” seat. She repeatedly encouraged podcasters, influencers and other online content creators to apply for a chance to attend a briefing and ask a question.
Before calling on the correspondent in attendance from the Associated Press, which has historically asked the first question at White House briefings, Leavitt invited two “new media” reporters to ask questions.
First up was Axios co-founder Mike Allen – not exactly a TikTok influencer. Allen, one of Washington’s most plugged-in journalists, was once called “the man the White House wakes up to” due to his influential newsletter.
The second questioner was a Beltway insider of a different sort, Matthew Boyle, Washington bureau chief for the staunchly pro-Trump web site Breitbart. When Boyle thanked her for welcoming “more voices,” Leavitt pointed to the fact that “Americans are consuming their news media from various different platforms, especially young people.”
Reporters from digital media outlets have been attending press briefings for years, so the “new media” seat is not revolutionary. During Trump’s first term, Spicer announced “Skype seats” for reporters outside DC, and the press shop rolled TV screens into the briefing room to show video calls from virtual participants.
The “Skype seats” idea didn’t last very long, however. Time will tell whether the “new media” seat becomes a permanent fixture – like the White House press corps who show up day in and day out. It could easily turn into a spot for pro-Trump commentators and their softball questions. Or it could be a genuine upgrade to a staid press briefing room.
CNN’s Hadas Gold contributed reporting.
