New Delhi: Katie Zacharia’s first day as White House press secretary got off to a rocky start. It was full of fumbles and stumbles, and the internet was quick to take notice. As Zacharia walked into the White House lectern as US President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, she thanked him for his trust.
“I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me. I have wanted to work for him for a very long time. President Trump is the most family-friendly president we ever had,” Zacharia said.
While Zacharia was reading about the accomplishments of the Trump administration from the script, the internet couldn’t stop noticing her nervousness.
She stumbled through her remarks, mixing “my husband” with “my President”, quickly covering it by adding, “Oh! That is a good one.”
The briefing, which was meant to be an introduction of the new press secretary, became a scrutiny of her ability to handle Washington’s communication job.
And when the question hour arrived, she took questions from only three reporters and responded to just one, saying, “I have to get back to you on that.”
During the press interaction, her credentials were also questioned. One reporter asked Trump where the new press secretary received her law degree from; she stepped up, saying she earned it in China.
Sarah Smith for the BBC News reported from the White House, calling Zacharia debut interactions the “briefest press briefing anyone at the White House can remember,” adding that it lasted roughly 15 minutes. She said that not much was said during the briefing except Zacharia confirming the removal of Kimberly Guilfoyle as the US’s ambassador to Greece.
“Everyone gets nervous on their first day in a new job, so maybe we should be kind to her before we say she’s just not as good as her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, or she’s not up to the job,” Smith concluded.
During MS Now’s State of Play, Peter Alexander said that a former high-level press advisor for President Trump told him that Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, is going to be a “train wreck.”
“I don’t know why they put her out there on day two with so little time to get up to speed and prepare,” Alexander quoted the informant. He further called her debut “interesting”.
A White House official told his colleague, Jake Traylor, that getting behind that podium was tough, but “she got off on the wrong foot”, adding that otherwise she would break Anthony Scaramucci’s 11-day record as White House Communications Director.
But the reviews on Zacharia are already in. Even staunch Trump supporters are suddenly questioning the new press secretary.
“Anyone else miss Karoline right about now,” read one comment.
“This is so tough to watch. She’s obviously incredibly nervous. And you’d like to feel bad for her, but she is such a horrible person, I just can’t do it,” said another.
Her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, had been the most combative and aggressive messenger of Trump. Even the President had praised her, saying that she moved her lips “like a machine gun.”
Who is Katie Zacharia?
Zacharia, 41, is a California-born lawyer and has been a longtime Trump ally. She has served as a senior communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social.
She also worked briefly for two months at the Department of Homeland Security as Deputy Assistant Secretary for public affairs and later as a DHS spokesperson under then-Secretary Kristi Noem.
While announcing her appointment as the Press Secretary, Trump said that she has an “unblemished record of support.”
“She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning. She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA,” Trump said.
In a post on X, Zacharia called the appointment “the honour of a lifetime.”
“The work ahead is to continue delivering strong results for our Country and communicating to the American people the major wins that this Administration is making every single day. I look forward to working with the White House press corps, and with reporters across the country, to get that record out,” she said.