Trump's new press secretary holds 13-minute debut briefing

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 16:59 · Archive

Katie Zacharia, Donald Trump's new Press Secretary, held a 13-minute briefing taking questions from only three journalists, drawing criticism from both political opponents and White House officials.

Katie Zacharia held her first briefing as White House Press Secretary on Tuesday, lasting just 13 minutes. She took seven questions from one MAGA blogger and two pro-Trump television reporters, spending about five minutes on the question-and-answer segment before ending the briefing.

Zacharia began by reading prepared remarks in which she praised Trump and expressed her honour at working for him and the American people. According to The Mirror, she also referred to her husband as 'her President' during the briefing.

The briefing drew ridicule from Democrats and left-wing commentators, but criticism also came from within the White House itself. Multiple White House officials expressed concern about the brevity and lack of preparation, with one calling it 'brutal'. Some officials questioned whether her tenure might be short-lived. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended her in a statement, calling her 'fabulous and wonderful' and 'whip smart'.

Zacharia, 41, a California native and Pepperdine law graduate, previously worked as a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Newsmax commentator and Truth Social advisor. Questions have been raised about whether she passed the bar exam. She replaced Karoline Leavitt, who held the role for nearly two years before leaving in August.

How it is being reported

• Even MAGA are cringing over Katie Zacharia’s press secretary debutOne official described the briefing as ‘brutal,’ while others questioned why Zacharia didn’t take more time to prepareIndependent World · 14 Oct, 16:43
• 'First briefing by Trump's new mouthpiece was a pointless pantomime, but at least it was short'Bringing new meaning to the "Press BRIEFing", Katie Zacharia was at the podium for 13 minutes, five minutes of which was spent taking seven questions from a MAGA blogger and two pro-Trump TV reportersThe Mirror · 13 Oct, 16:34

In this story: Katie Zacharia · Donald Trump · Karoline Leavitt · Steven Cheung · White House

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem