Katie Zacharia under fire after first ‘nervous’ White House briefing, Trump responds

The newly appointed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is at the center of backlash she has been facing since her first debut in new role.

On Tuesday, the 41-year-old made her first appearance at the podium but her performance and way of speaking grabbed the attention of not only social media users and journalists but also officials within the Trump administration, drawing mixed responses.

Her first briefing started with one of the key announcements related to the US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle. She revealed that the administration had asked Guilfoyle to resign from her position.

During the briefing, Zacharia appeared hesitant while reading from the prepared statements. What makes her the subject of online mockery is the frequent pauses, awkward smile, fumbling and skip of tongue at certain points. Some also questioned her presentation skills.

She mixed up her husband with the president. The most awkward moment came when she was asked how she planned to balance her job with raising four children. While talking about her husband, Zacharia accidentally referred to him as the president, before quickly correcting herself and trying to laugh it off.

She also ended the briefing after just 14 minutes, leaving only 5 minutes for journalists to ask questions.

Social media users trolled her as one user mocked, “When you lied on your resume and actually got the job.”

Another one commented, “This is going to be one of those SNL skits where they literally do not have to change a single word… and it will still be hilarious.”

The third one jokingly wrote, “She seems like a flight attendant who is being forced to glaze the plane's hijackers.”

Sports radio host Henry Lake added, “She is doing a bad job reading a prepared statement. Her tenure is about comedy. The SNL skits might be legendary,”

Journalist Aaron Rupar also slammed Zacharia's performance, writing on X, “Katie Zacharia makes Karoline Leavitt seem like Winston Churchill.”

Despite the social media trolling, President Trump defended Zacharia, stating ““I thought she was very good!”

Facing intense criticism over a nervous briefing, which drew comparisons to Anthony Scaramucci's infamous 10-day White House tenure, Zacharia’s tenure appears increasingly uncertain. Prediction market Polymarket has already opened wagers on her departure, placing the odds of her being ousted by the end of the year at 29 percent.