Jen Psaki will find out pretty quickly if appearing in front of a couple of dozen White House reporters every day in a very controlled and friendly environment is enough to turn her into a television star.
She is reportedly on her way out of her gig as White House press secretary and heading to New York to join MSNBC as soon as May.
If she does leave the podium for a television studio, she will be just the latest in a very long line of people who did the exact same thing. Why? Because it’s a natural transition to go to a cable network that is an echo chamber for either Democrats or Republicans.
While Psaki could be popular at MSNBC because she’ll be preaching to the choir of like thinking viewers, it doesn’t mean that she will be successful, as MSNBC’s minuscule ratings might keep most of the viewership to friends and family.
Check out this list of White House spokespeople who became talking heads. Three of President Trump’s press secretaries went on to television gigs. Kayleigh McEnany and Sarah Sanders joined Fox News, and Sean Spicer has a show on Newsman TV.
Obama’s former speakers went three for three; Josh Earnest went to NBC and MSNBC, Jay Carney is on CNN, and Robert Gibbs is a political contributor to MSNBC and NBC.
How about George W. Bush? Yahoo reports Dana Perino and Ari Fleischer landed at Fox News, and Tony Snow was on CNN for a beat.
Psaki has yet to sign a contract, but Axios reported she is telling people around the White House she’s as good as gone.
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