I think it's even simpler than that.

She is used to dealing with softball questions from mainstream "journalists" who absolutely would not ask that question of her both because they're on her team and because it's not something they'd think to ask, so it's genuinely not something she is prepared for.

We're 15 years into Ben Rhodes' "They literally know nothing" era. The days of Helen Thomas asking an awkward question (even occasionally when that person had a (D) behind their name) are long gone.