This is about the Apple Developer Console "Account Holder" account which has different requirements from a normal apple id. See https://developer.apple.com/support/authentication/

This page now claims that you need a "trusted device" or a "trusted phone number". If true, this is different from how it was in the past. Sadly I have no way to check, since I'm not paying another $100 to sign up with a new account just to prove a point.