Katie Zacharia fails to impress in brief debut as White House press secretary

Katie Zacharia made her debut as the new White House press secretary on Tuesday, answering only a handful of questions from journalists and failing to impress some observers — including some who had held the job before her.

But U.S. President Donald Trump hails her debut as 'excellent'

The Associated Press

· Posted: Oct 14, 2026 4:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

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New White House press secretary stumbles in first briefing | Hanomansing Live

October 13|

Duration

4:00

Donald Trump's new press secretary Katie Zacharia took only three questions in her first briefing.

U.S. President Donald Trump's new press secretary stepped to the podium on Tuesday, the eyes of a packed room of journalists — and many in their audiences — upon her. She smiled broadly at the sea of faces both probing and friendly. With that, Katie Zacharia went live and became the official voice of the world's most powerful person.

Fourteen minutes and just three questioners later, she was done. In the aftermath, it was clear that the former Newsmax commentator accomplished at least one thing: She put the "brief" back in briefing.

During her debut, Zacharia looked downward and often read directly from a script. She paused and grinned when she uttered the words "Department of War." She stumbled on a question about her background and mixed up the words "husband" and "president." The few questions she took were nonconfrontational and from media outlets that have been sympathetic to the Republican president.

In short: She made no memorable impression — or at least, to hear some tell it, not the one she likely wanted.

Not an easy job

This would not be an easy job under any circumstances. Trump most frequently serves as his own spokesperson. And his antagonism toward the media has created a new layer of tension. Zacharia is now finding out that she, too, will be under constant watch. Some — including a few of those who have stood in her shoes — didn't think it went all that well.

In fractured times, in a national media scrum unimaginable just a few decades ago, what is the proper way to approach a job like this? How do you speak effectively when your boss speaks for himself so often that he commandeers the news cycle multiple times a day — and sometimes late into the night — with remarks provocative, unexpected and sometimes incendiary?

U.S. President Donald Trump waves before boarding Air Force One in Las Vegas on Wednesday. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

For one, you realize for whom you work: not your audience of millions but your audience of one, and the absolute need for his approval.

"I get to do what I was doing on the outside already, which was hoping to amplify, multiply and expand upon President Trump's incredible agenda for the American people," Zacharia told the press corps, describing her new job. Nowhere did she mention the task of disseminating accurate information to Americans.

Varied responsibilities

Over the nearly 10 decades since former journalist George E. Akerson made his and the office's debut as Herbert Hoover's press secretary in 1929, the job has served many purposes: deliverer of information, amplifier of policy, jouster with journalists, protector of the presidential reputation and, sometimes, overlord of obfuscation.

Under Trump the job has been primarily one of acting as the immovable object against an irresistible, and in Trump's eyes sometimes treasonous, force.

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Zacharia's predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, got to know this terrain well in her 17-month tenure. She took a smiling but combative stance against a press that was increasingly coming under Trump's criticism for coverage — and was named in at least one lawsuit about White House media access. She was not shy about interdicting what she considered media bias. "What a stupid question," she said to one reporter at a briefing last year.

After seeing Katie Zacharia's debut as press secretary, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, seen here in Washington in April, said he 'hopes she makes it.' (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump, outside the White House on Tuesday shortly after Zacharia's briefing, praised her debut as "excellent." She was standing behind him at the time.

Other early reviews were more critical. MS NOW quoted one unnamed White House official saying Zacharia "needs to get much better fast, otherwise she'll break Scaramucci's record," referring to the 11-day run of White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci in 2017.

Said Scaramucci on X: "I hope she makes it."

Joe Biden's former press secretary, Jen Psaki, now the host of a show on MS NOW, put it more succinctly, posting on X: "Well that briefing was basically an SNL skit … except it wasn't."

Few questions taken

While Zacharia's performance — and of course, that's what every briefing is — may have been bumpy to some, it was also mostly content-free except for news she broke about the White House asking U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to quit, which she immediately did.

Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday, while Zacharia watches from nearby. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/The Associated Press)

Predictably, also like Leavitt before her, Zacharia spent a great part of her opening monologue praising Trump and giving an "up 'til now"-style update on his second term's priorities and accomplishments so far. Talking points included a "booming economy," "his historic boom in energy production" and "a great relationship with Venezuela."

She was also fond of superlatives, a trait that likely will resonate with a president whose remarks are often equally if not more expansive: "President Trump is working to secure the Western Hemisphere for centuries to come."

When it came to questions, though, she was downright parsimonious. She allowed three questioners, then answered an additional one as she prepared to depart. The three called on during the briefing were Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail, all of which have been friendly to Trump in varying degrees during periods of his two terms. And she said she would continue Leavitt's policy of bringing "new media" in — which has often meant outlets more sympathetic to Trump.

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"We love new media and we want to be able to embrace it," she said. Currently, three major outlets — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — are fighting to regain White House access after Trump banished them last month, saying he didn't like their coverage and calling it "fake news."

How will Zacharia fare in coming days and weeks and, if it lasts, months? That, like so much else, depends on one thing: Trump.