Katie Zacharia made her debut as the new White House press secretary on Tuesday, and she seems to have pleased her boss. "I thought she did excellent," President Trump told reporters, per the AP. "She did very good." Zacharia's appearance lasted only 14 minutes, during which she read a prepared statement about Trump's accomplishments and called upon three reporters from conservative outlets before wrapping things up. Zacharia also downplayed her role, saying she was there only to "amplify" the president's actions and adding that Trump is "his own best spokesperson." Left-leaning critics panned the debut, but the typically Trump-friendly New York Post also described Zacharia as "visibly nervous," noting that at one point she referred to the president as her husband.
Some of the harsher takes:
- "Katie Zacharia makes Karoline Leavitt seem like Winston Churchill," journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X, referring to the previous White House press chief.
- At the New Republic, Malcolm Ferguson writes that she spoke "slowly and awkwardly" and that "her cadence was clunky, closer to that of a fourth grader reading school announcements over an intercom than a polished political communications professional."
- And at MS NOW, a White House source sums up: "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." Anthony Scaramucci served as de facto press secretary for all of 10 days in Trump's first term.
- In defense: "She seemed nervous, but who wouldn't be?" an administration official tells the Post. "People criticizing her are being a--holes considering she had the guts to come out and do something she's never done before with 24 hours of prep."
- Judge for yourself here.
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