Brian Kilmeade Would Have Hired Scott Jennings as Donald Trump's Spokesman

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's choice of Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary "didn't end up being right," and that he would have given the job to CNN commentator Scott Jennings.

Kilmeade made the remarks on The Brian Kilmeade Show while responding to Brit Hume, Fox News' senior political analyst. Hume has questioned whether Trump's midterm campaign travel is doing Republicans any good with the Nov. 3 election two weeks away. Kilmeade defended the travel. On the press secretary, he largely agreed with Hume.

Brian Kilmeade on Katie Zacharia and Scott Jennings

Kilmeade played a clip of Hume describing a "fiasco last week." In it, Hume said the White House had sent its new press secretary to the podium "with no time to prepare really, only a matter of a day or two, and it didn't go well."

"It was crazy to send her out like that," Hume said.

Kilmeade said the bigger problem was "the law background." He then named the hire he would have made.

"And I think she got off to a stumbling start, but I definitely would have just got Scott Jennings not worried about it," Kilmeade said. "The guy would have been able to hit the ground running, he's got so much experience and also every single day he goes on CNN and he's the only reasonable person on there."

"But that's the president, a lot of times his instincts are right and that case didn't end up being right." — Brian Kilmeade

The criticism was limited. Kilmeade praised Trump's instincts in the same sentence, and he said Zacharia "would eventually have gotten better." He would have kept her on the team, he said: "I would have probably put her back into communications, done it for a while."

The press secretary was not Kilmeade's only break with the White House in the episode. On Ukraine, he told listeners, "I think the president's flat out wrong, and I think he's got the wrong guys negotiating this."

Why Trump's Press Secretary Lasted One Week

Zacharia's only briefing in the job lasted 14 minutes, and she took questions from just three conservative outlets, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. She had called herself a lawyer in conservative media appearances. She is a Pepperdine law graduate but never passed the California bar exam.

Asked which bar exam she had passed, Zacharia said something that included "when I moved to China," NBC Boston reported. A senior administration official confirmed she had not passed the California bar, and there is no evidence she is licensed to practice law in any state.

Trump announced the appointment on Oct. 9. Zacharia left on Friday. Trump said, "you don't have to do this if you don't want." A senior administration official said she would move to a new role, to be announced later.

Jennings, a CNN commentator, had been mentioned for the job before Zacharia was picked, TheWrap reported. When CNN colleagues asked him on air whether he wanted it, he said, "Oh, me? No, I wouldn't negotiate my personnel prospects with you here on television."

Kilmeade Disputes Brit Hume on Trump's Midterm Campaign

Kilmeade split from Hume on the bigger question. Hume said Trump "has been out campaigning vigorously," but added, "I'm not sure it's helping."

"I do think he's making a big difference," Kilmeade said. He pointed to the crowds Trump has drawn in Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. "The goal is not to win people over, it's to get your fans to vote."

Kilmeade granted that independents and Hispanic voters who are angry with Trump may not be moved. Trump held a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Tuesday, WBTV reported. An earlier stop in Wichita, Kansas, was meant to help Senator Roger Marshall, according to Spectrum News.

The polling backs Hume's caution more than Kilmeade's optimism. Trump's approval stands at 37.8 percent, with 59.3 percent disapproving, according to PolitiKool's polling average. Democrats lead the generic congressional ballot 48.9 percent to 40.6 percent, a margin of 8.3 points, in PolitiKool's polling average. CNN analyst Harry Enten described Trump's net approval of minus 35 in a Reuters/Ipsos poll as a record low for a president weeks before a midterm.

Kilmeade's argument depends on turnout, not persuasion. His Fox colleague Sean Hannity has voiced the same worry about Republican voters staying home.

What Happens Next

Kilmeade said Trump will visit South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Georgia and Michigan later this week, and that Vice President JD Vance is stepping up his own travel. Whether the crowds Kilmeade cited turn into votes, as he says they will, or fall short of the gap Hume sees, will be settled on Nov. 3.