WASHINGTON — New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia stepped into the lion’s den during her first press briefing, calling a halt to proceedings after just 14 minutes and taking questions from three reporters.
Thrust into the national spotlight on her second day of work, Zacharia was visibly nervous, at one point referring to her husband as the president and relying on her notes, including to select the third and final reporter to ask a question.
Zacharia kicked off the briefing with eight minutes of opening remarks praising the “energetic president” and claiming “attendance is at record highs” at his rallies, before rattling off positive data on wage gains, drug prices, jobs and energy production.
That left about six minutes for questions — with Zacharia calling on reporters from Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail. She broke the news that Trump demanded the resignation of ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle shortly before leaving the stage.
“I am going to end it because President Trump is heading out to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska,” she said, even though Trump’s departure wasn’t imminent and reporters were not called to gather for Marine One’s liftoff for another hour.
It was one of the shortest briefings of the past decade, her obvious nerves were the talk of Washington.
“She seemed nervous, but who wouldn’t be?” an administration official told The Post moments after Zacharia’s highly anticipated debut.
“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,” the official said.
“I’ve worked with a ton of people that have the idea that it’s fun to go on TV and do these things, and they all come out of the gates shaky.”
Another administration official said “she looked absolutely stunning” — something beneficial in the eyes of Trump, who favors staff who have looks “out of central casting.”
“I loved that she shared a little about her personal story, her family, and how she plans to balance motherhood with the high demands of the job,” said this official, noting Zacharia’s mentions of her four children and upcoming birthdays.
“She seemed understandably nervous, but given her background, I think once she gets fully immersed in the work and comfortable with the administration’s messaging, she’ll find her footing pretty quickly.”
A person close to the White House said, “she was nervous, but I don’t think someone should be judged based on their first briefing, and it’s unfair to compare her negatively to the best press secretary [under Trump], Karoline [Leavitt].”
“I doubt [Trump] will move on quickly,” he added. “[Trump] doesn’t exactly love saying he was wrong, even implicitly.”
The TV-centric Trump was expected to watch the briefing. If he was upset, he didn’t show it as he departed the White House with Zacharia, who trailed him en route to Marine One as he answered many more questions from reporters.
Zacharia, a lawyer and conservative commentator, emerged as a surprise pick after Trump watched her energetic commentary on cable news.
She had a brief stint earlier this year as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, but was swept out the door just weeks into that job in a housecleaning following the ouster of Secretary Kristi Noem and her de facto chief of staff and alleged lover Corey Lewandowski.
Many senior White House officials were unaware that Trump would be picking a new press secretary until just before it happened, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who has a poor relationship with Lewandowski, had not pushed for her selection.
Florida-based body language expert Dr. Lillian Glass told The Post that Zacharia’s nervousness wasn’t her only area for improvement, citing a monotone voice and a lack of eye contact.
“She’s definitely no Karoline Leavitt. She had gravitas,” Glass said. “She used her tone of voice appropriately. You knew when she was angry. You knew when she was happy. You knew when she was a matter of fact. She had the range of inflection that was appropriate. … Karoline Leavitt would look at you. Again, this is the first day, so I’m going to be fair.”
In one of the most memorable moments of the briefing, Zacharia referred to “my president, excuse me, my husband,” adding: “That’s a — that’s a good one.”
Photos of the press secretary’s notes indicated she had pre-planned the three reporters she would call on, but that also didn’t prevent her from stumbling over their names.
Trump announced Zacharia as the successor to Leavitt last week, with Monday being her first official day in the job. She had just one day to prepare for a briefing and meet her new staff in person.
Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, now a co-host on Fox News midday program “Outnumbered,” recalled that she took about two weeks before briefing the media after being tapped for the role.
McEnany’s predecessor, Stephanie Grisham, told journalists she wanted to prepare thoroughly before briefing them. She left the post nine months later — without ever answering questions in the briefing room.
Andrew Kolvet, spokesperson for Turning Point USA, credited Zacharia with just diving in.
“Thought it was smart of new WH Press Sec Katie Zacharia to rip the band-aid and hold her first press briefing straight away,” Kolvet said on X. “She came off perhaps a bit nervous reading the prepared statement, but very relatable and likeable. She lit up when talking when about her family.”
