New York's Olivia Nuzzi had a pretty crazy Tuesday, unexpectedly invited into the Oval Office where she interviewed President Trump — then White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and sundry other Trump administration officials. In her entertaining writeup, "you call this meeting a 'private Oval Office press conference,'" CNN's Don Lemon reminded Nuzzi on Wednesday night. "And it's a wild read. Tell us about it." Watching one top Trump official after another parade in, purportedly serendipitously, to insist that the White House was a sea of tranquility "felt, frankly, ridiculous after a while," she said. "You know, I was on no sleep at all, and I hadn't had coffee, and I just kept thinking, like, what is happening?"
Alice Stewart, a GOP strategist and Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) former communications director, jumped in to congratulate Nuzzi on the story, on her own behalf and, more surprisingly, on behalf of the White House. Stewart said she was eating at a restaurant on Wednesday evening, saw one of the officials in Nuzzi's article, mentioned she was going on CNN with Nuzzi, and asked him what he thought of the article. "He said, 'Make sure to tell Olivia that this was a very fair piece.' They were pleased with how it came out, because it was virtually — the piece was like you were live-blogging," Stewart said. "They say this is a classic case of what 'fake news' is not. And so they wanted to say that the appreciated the opportunity that you gave them to tell the story, and I think you did a great job."
"Wait, Alice, who said that?" Nuzzi said. "I've gotta know." "I cannot reveal my sources," Stewart said, laughing. Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
