White House press secretary Katie Zacharia’s first press briefing lasted less than 15 minutes, and she took just a handful of questions. The shaky debut, in which she made news about the administration asking for embattled Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle’s resignation but appeared nervous while speaking with reporters, led some Republican strategists and at least one White House official to question her fitness for the role.
“Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot. She needs to get much better fast, otherwise she’ll break Scaramucci’s record,” a White House official told MS Now, referring to Anthony Scaramucci, whom President Donald Trump fired in 2017 after 11 days as communications director.
Trump defended Zacharia following the press briefing, saying that “she was very good.”
A GOP strategist who supports Zacharia told The Washington Sun in a text message, “That was interesting.” Another Republican operative told The Sun that Zacharia’s performance was a hard watch.
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Those strategists, along with other officials and former officials The Sun talked to, spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from the Trump administration.
Zacharia devoted much of the briefing to touting Trump’s accomplishments and upcoming campaign travel to Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. She took a few questions — including telling Fox News’ Peter Doocy that she would need to get back to him when asked if the U.S. is still sharing intelligence with Ukraine — but the new press secretary abruptly ended the event by saying Trump would take reporter questions soon as he left for Alaska.
“Well, I don’t think she’s going to last long,” one reporter said in the briefing room, moments after Zacharia left.
A former Trump official defended Zacharia, saying that her nerves showed, but that she got through it by “dropping the hammer with news on Guilfoyle” and then pivoting to the president’s departure.
Trump named Zacharia, a former adviser to Trump Media and conservative commentator on Fox News, to the role last week. She replaces Karoline Leavitt, who departed at the end of August.
“She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning,” Trump posted on Truth Social when announcing her new role. “She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA! I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next White House Press Secretary.”
Zacharia told the Washington Examiner that she plans to stay in the role until the end of Trump’s second term, which would make her the longest-tenured chief spokesperson under Trump.
She had faced criticism already, as CNN reported that, in now-deleted tweets, she promoted debunked falsehoods and advocated for hardline immigration policies. She also criticized the Trump administration, saying the midterms “will be a bloodbath” if officials didn’t start focusing on the right priorities.
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