New White House press secretary Katie Zachariah faced criticism after delivering a 14-minute briefing on her first day in the role, answering questions from just three journalists in an appearance that critics said failed to meet expectations.
The former Newsmax commentator frequently read from her notes, paused during her presentation and stumbled over parts of her delivery. When she mentioned the “Department of War”, she smiled and briefly stopped. In response to a question about her personal background, she also confused the words “wife” and “president”.
The questions came from journalists representing outlets that have generally taken favourable positions towards US President Donald Trump, prompting criticism that the briefing offered little meaningful scrutiny.
A challenging role under Trump
Zachariah faces a difficult task as Trump often acts as his own chief spokesperson, intervening frequently in public debate and setting the news agenda with statements, sometimes late at night.
His confrontational relationship with the media also creates a demanding environment for anyone responsible for communicating his administration’s positions.
Zachariah has said her goal is to promote and advance the president’s agenda. However, she did not mention the responsibility to provide the public with accurate information, an omission highlighted by critics of her first appearance.
A long history of White House press secretaries
The role has changed considerably since journalist George E. Akerson became the first White House press secretary under President Herbert Hoover in 1929. Over the decades, press secretaries have served as official sources of information, defenders of government policy and interlocutors — or adversaries — of journalists.
During Trump’s second presidency, the position has taken on an increasingly confrontational character as the president frequently attacks media outlets over their coverage of his activities.
Zachariah’s predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, left the position in August after adopting a consistently combative approach towards journalists. She regularly denounced what she considered biased reporting and once called a journalist’s question “stupid”.
Trump, however, expressed satisfaction with Zachariah’s debut, calling her “excellent” shortly after the briefing as she stood behind him.
Other reactions were less favourable. MS NOW cited an unnamed White House official who said Zachariah needed to improve quickly or risk breaking the record for the shortest tenure by Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House communications director for just 11 days in 2017.
Scaramucci commented on her first appearance on social media on Tuesday, writing: “I hope she does well.”
Jen Psaki, a Greek-American who served as press secretary under former President Joe Biden and now presents programmes on MS NOW, offered a more pointed assessment on X.
“This briefing was more like a Saturday Night Live skit… except it wasn’t,” she wrote.
Praise for Trump and few questions
Beyond the criticism of her delivery, Zachariah’s first briefing provided little new information. One of the most significant announcements concerned Kimberly Guilfoyle’s resignation as US ambassador to Greece following a request from the White House, according to the new press secretary.
Most of the presentation focused on promoting the achievements and priorities of Trump’s second presidency. Zachariah described a “booming economy”, highlighted increased energy production and praised relations with Venezuela.
She also used language underscoring the administration’s ambitions, saying Trump was working to secure the United States’ position in the Western Hemisphere “for centuries to come”.
The question-and-answer session ended quickly. Zachariah called on journalists from Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail, before answering one additional question as she prepared to leave.
She also pledged to continue Leavitt’s policy of including so-called “new media” outlets in White House briefings. The category includes organisations that often take a favourable approach towards Trump.
“We love new media and want to embrace them,” she said.
Meanwhile, major news organisations, including CNN, MS NOW and Politico, are seeking to regain access to the White House after the administration excluded them the previous month. The government cited dissatisfaction with their coverage and accused them of spreading “fake news”.
Whether Zachariah can meet the demands of the position will become clearer in the coming weeks. Her success will depend heavily on her relationship with Trump, who remains the dominant figure in his administration’s public communications.
A longstanding tactic in political communication involves answering a different question when a journalist raises a difficult issue. In her first briefing, Zachariah adopted another approach: she took a small number of relatively unchallenging questions and brought the session to a swift close.
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