New White House press secretary’s ‘brutal’ second day on the job
Speculation in US media is mounting over how long new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia will last in the role after an awkward first press briefing drew sharp criticism from inside the West Wing.
Zacharia, a former conservative media commentator and executive for Trump Media and Technology Group who succeeded Karoline Leavitt, spent just 14 minutes at the lectern.
President Donald Trump walks out along with White House press secretary Katie Zacharia to talk to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. Associated Press
She spent most of that time reading a prepared statement on President Donald Trump’s policies before taking questions from three pre-selected media outlets and abruptly ending the session.
The brief appearance sparked immediate concern among White House staff and Trump advisers, who questioned why she was sent to the podium without adequate preparation.
"She should have been doing murder boards for two weeks before going up there," one Trump adviser told CNN, describing the performance as "brutal," stilted, and uncomfortable.
"Why did they put her out there so quickly? Literally zero reason to put her out on her second day, unprepared," another White House official said.
The performance contrasted sharply with that of Leavitt, whose briefings averaged around 45 minutes and routinely involved taking unscripted questions from reporters standing in the aisles.
Zacharia called on three conservative outlets - Breitbart, Fox News, and the Daily Mail - reading their names from notes prepared beforehand. She defended ending the briefing early by stating reporters could question Trump directly on the South Lawn before his departure for Alaska.
Despite the short briefing, Zacharia broke major administration news, announcing that Trump had requested the resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US Ambassador to Greece, following reports of alleged misconduct.
"The best thing she did was break the news about Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle - at least that takes the focus off of her performance," an adviser told CNN.
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia addresses reporters. Associated Press
The difficult debut comes as Zacharia faces growing scrutiny over her legal credentials.
Trump introduced her as an "attorney," but public records show no evidence she has passed a state bar exam in the US. The State Bar of California confirmed to CNN that there is no record of Zacharia holding a law license in the state following her graduation from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law.
When asked by reporters on Tuesday morning which state bar she had passed, Trump turned to Zacharia, who responded: "I moved to China."
A White House official later stated that Zacharia relocated to Beijing with her husband after law school to work on international transaction law, but did not answer whether she had passed a bar exam.
Despite the internal backlash, Trump publicly defended his new spokeswoman. Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn, Trump praised her performance, saying, "I thought she was very good. She did excellent."
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also backed her, calling Zacharia a "fabulous and wonderful addition to the team."
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