Zacharia’s first spin at White House podium draws rocky reviews

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia was met with a barrage of criticism following her first briefing in her new role, leading some to question the future of her tenure shortly after she was tapped for the job.

Zacharia on Tuesday delivered a roughly 14-minute briefing and took questions from only three outlets. She notably broke news when she told a reporter the administration asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign from her role as U.S. ambassador to Greece, but she wrapped the briefing shortly thereafter.

One former White House official characterized Zacharia’s performance as “fine,” noting “it was clear that this was just a warmup.”

“Breitbart and Fox? OK. She did fine, but this was hardly a true test,” the official said.

“Nice job on breaking the news about Guilfoyle though,” they added.

Critics were quick to note Zacharia looked visibly nervous during the briefing and said it looked like she ended it prematurely.

“The clock is running. Thus far 1/11th of a Scaramucci,” former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci wrote on the social platform X . Scaramucci infamously served in the role during the first Trump administration for 11 days before he was fired.

Zacharia replaced former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who announced she was leaving the administration earlier this year.

Leavitt was seen as the gold standard for Trump-era press secretaries, ready at any moment to go on attack mode against the news media while strategically forging relationships with the press behind the scenes.

Before her role in Trump’s second administration, Leavitt served under former first-term press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who was also praised for her unwavering defense of Trump and her combative style.

“Love them or hate them: Kayleigh McEnany and Karoline Leavitt came out swinging in their first press briefings. They were sharp, confident, prepared, and proved they had the chops for the job right out of the gate,” said Sarah Matthews, former deputy White House press secretary during the first Trump administration, in a post on X.

“Katie Zacharia? A rather underwhelming debut. Three questions, including one from the new media seat, and a heavy reliance on her notes. Not exactly in command of the briefing room,” continued Matthews, who has since become an outspoken Trump critic.

Others argued Zacharia should be given more slack, noting Tuesday was her second day on the job.

“We were told she was getting the job on Friday, and she rolls out here on what, what’s today, Tuesday?” said one Republican strategist.

The strategist argued that it took past secretaries like McEnany and Leavitt weeks and months to truly get the hang of the role of White House press secretary, but then noted their experience working for Trump on the campaign benefited them.

“They were taking live fire from the campaign for months before they were doing this job,” the strategist said, referring to McEnany and Leavitt, as well as former press secretaries Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Zacharia “was going on TV interviews, but she wasn’t taking that live fire, breaking news as it happens,” the strategist noted. “When you’re on the campaign trail or even during the transition because you’re taking live fire every day, once you get behind [the podium], it’s no different being in the Brady Room than it is on the campaign trail or on Air Force One.”

Zacharia started out the briefing conventionally, touting the president’s agenda for just more than eight minutes before taking the questions.

She took her first question from the conservative outlet Breitbart in the new media seat, a usually safe option Leavitt and her substitutes took in the past, before taking questions from Fox News and the Daily Mail.

When asked by Fox News’s Peter Doocy if the U.S. had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, Zacharia said she would get back to him on that. But the newsiest bit of the briefing came when Zacharia told the Daily Mail the administration asked Guilfoyle to step down from her post after a week of negative headlines.

The former White House official noted Zacharia would really be tested when she takes questions from more adversarial news outlets.

“Maybe we start with asking a question from somebody other than the official media outlet of Team Trump, and then work our way up from there,” the former official said.

“I’m sure this was by design. Ease her into the job, which makes the complete sense,” they added.

Zacharia’s first briefing room performance is not the only thing coming under scrutiny. The newsletter Popular Information has raised questions about Zacharia’s legal career after she has been described as an attorney in a number of media appearances.

The new press secretary was asked Tuesday about which state she passed the bar in, to which she responded, “when I moved to China.”

When asked to clarify where Zacharia passed the bar exam, a White House official said she moved to China with her husband after graduating due to his job at a U.S. private equity firm, and she worked on international transaction law.

The White House has so far offered glowing reviews of Zacharia’s performance, describing it as a “powerful, inaugural briefing” in an email blast to reporters on Tuesday.

“Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. “She is 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 she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary.”

Zacharia will get more time in the spotlight this week as she hits the campaign trail with Trump, starting with Alaska on Tuesday.

However, those close to Trump note it’s his opinion that is ultimately the only one that matters.

“I thought she was very good,” Trump told reporters outside the White House, standing alongside Zacharia, when he was asked about the briefing.