Nicolle Wallace lives for the sort of chaos that makes most cable television hosts shudder.

On the day investigators raided the offices of President Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen, the news broke moments before the start of Wallace’s MSNBC show at 4 p.m. Eastern. The rundown that she and her team had planned for “Deadline: White House” was quickly discarded.

“When news happens, we respond immediately,” Wallace said. “We don’t blink. We don’t flinch. We don’t think about it. We never say, ‘let’s stick with what we’ve scripted.’ We blow it up. My most Zen moment is when the prompter goes black and (executive producer) Pat Burkey is talking to me and we’re trying to get through the moment.”

Dealing with the unexpected was a regular part of her work as White House communications director for President George W. Bush and senior adviser for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. Although news often knocked her on her heels, she loved the adrenaline rush.