New White House Press Secretary Brutally Mocked After Short First Briefing

Katie Zacharia stepped up for her first turn as White House press secretary on Tuesday and the whole thing wrapped up in under 15 minutes. Only three reporters managed to get questions in before she called it quits. Social media wasted no time turning the short appearance into a punchline, with plenty of people already wondering how long she’ll stick around.

She spent more than half the briefing reading straight from prepared remarks. The questions that did get asked came from Breitbart, Fox News, and the Daily Mail. During that limited window she announced that the administration had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign over allegations of misconduct. Most of the rest of her time went to praising President Donald Trump and the work his administration has done so far.

Zacharia described the job as a chance to amplify the president, something she said she already does as a conservative commentator. “I hope to take that into an official capacity,” she told reporters. She added that she wants to “only build on, only amplify and only multiply, to the extent possible, all of the wins” Trump has delivered so Americans can see how much has changed in a short period. “My goal is to be able to communicate that in complete tandem with the president, as he is his own best spokesperson and will absolutely be leading the way with that,” she said.

When Fox News asked whether the United States has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine in connection with Russia’s invasion, she answered that she would “have to get back to you on that.”

Online reactions were mixed but heavily tilted toward mockery. One viewer asked if the briefing looked like a “hostage video.” Another said she “makes Karoline Leavitt seem like Winston Churchill.” Someone else wrote that it was “giving flight attendant doing the safety briefing for the first time.” A few people predicted she might not even last as long as Anthony Scaramucci, the shortest-serving White House communications director in history. One comment claimed her “only qualifications were to be young blonde and white.”

MS NOW reporter Jake Traylor passed along a blunt assessment from a White House official: “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.”

Not everyone piled on. White House communications director Steven Cheung told LADBible that “Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team.” He called her “uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things president Trump and his Administration have been doing,” and said she “will do an incredible job as press secretary.”