Katie Zacharia faces criticism after first briefing as White House press secretary

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia faced criticism after her first briefing on Tuesday, with her hesitant delivery and a slip of the tongue drawing attention from journalists and social media users.

WASHINGTON: New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia faced criticism after her first briefing on Tuesday, with her hesitant delivery and a slip of the tongue drawing attention from journalists and social media users.

Zacharia, who recently took over the role from Karoline Leavitt, used the briefing to announce that the Trump administration had asked US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign.

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But her delivery also became a focus of attention. She read much of her opening statement from prepared remarks, pausing frequently and appearing hesitant at several points.

One of the most widely noted moments came when Zacharia was discussing how she would balance her job with raising her four children. She began to refer to her husband as “my president” before correcting herself: “Excuse me, my husband.”

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The briefing lasted about 14 minutes. Zacharia took questions from three reporters before ending the session, prompting criticism over the limited opportunity for journalists to question her.

Some social media users mocked her performance. One post read: “When you lied on your resume and actually got the job.” Another compared the briefing to a potential sketch on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL), writing that the programme would not need to change a single word to make it funny.

Sports radio host Henry Lake also criticised Zacharia’s delivery, writing that she was “doing a bad job reading a prepared statement” and predicting that the briefing could inspire SNL sketches.

Journalist Aaron Rupar criticised the performance in a post on X, writing: “Katie Zacharia makes Karoline Leavitt seem like Winston Churchill.”

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President Donald Trump defended his new press secretary after the briefing, telling reporters: “I thought she was very good!”

Zacharia’s debut prompted comparisons with Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House communications director for 11 days in 2017. However, the criticism following her first briefing does not establish how long she will remain in the role.