Rinaldi faced the TVNewser hot seat to answer questions on her eventful afternoon and show us how deep her Taylor Swift fandom really goes.
Whose arm did you have to twist so that you could be the one to break the engagement news on-air?
Every day on the White House beat is a surprise. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time for this announcement.
As a White House reporter, we’re often on standby on the North Lawn in case President Trump or his team makes news or speaks. On Tuesday, I had just wrapped up reporting on Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook and President Trump’s latest cabinet meeting when our producer Gabby Ake texted me the big news. My jaw dropped. My mic was hot, and I alerted our control room to come back to me so I could break the news to our viewers.
I was quickly back on our news program and was thrilled to share the update. It’s proof that anything can happen in this career—whether that’s breaking news in politics or pop culture.
How much time elapsed between receiving the news and breaking the news on air?
It’s not out of the ordinary that we learn breaking news and quickly jump on live TV to share the updates. In this case, it was only a few short minutes between when I got the text and went on air. Our control room acted very quickly, so they deserve a lot of credit for making it happen.
Would you consider breaking the news of the engagement a major career accomplishment?
It’s a privilege to report on the White House. It was my childhood dream to become a reporter, so every day I am focused on giving it my all—bringing the most accurate, in-depth information to Americans. It just so happened that this week I had the special opportunity to combine my love for reporting on DC with my favorite musical artist. Whenever there’s a moment to tap into joy and share it with others, I consider that a career accomplishment.
