Katie Zacharia had barely stepped away from the White House podium after her first televised press briefing when criticism from inside the administration began pouring in.
“I feel badly for her … her kids and family watching,” one source said. A senior Trump communications official described the briefing as “terrible on so many different levels,” while another called it “embarrassing.” One Republican communications strategist responded with just a dumpster-fire emoji.
The remarks were part of a wave of criticism aimed at Zacharia, 41, from senior figures in Donald Trump’s administration. Insiders in the president’s orbit told Our News Outlet that Tuesday’s briefing had been a complete car crash.
With her broad smile, blonde hair, navy blazer and pencil skirt, Zacharia looked every inch the White House press secretary on only her second day in the role. But according to sources, she failed at the job’s central task: presenting and promoting Trump effectively.
Zacharia faltered over her prepared remarks and repeatedly stumbled through her answers. At one point, she referred to the president as her husband. She also surprised reporters by revealing to Our News Outlet that Trump had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as ambassador to Greece. After taking just three questions, she ended the briefing after 14 minutes.
For Trump, the episode may have been even more damaging because several sources believe Zacharia was placed in the briefing room without adequate support from senior members of his team.
More than half a dozen Trump officials told Our News Outlet they suspected Zacharia had received little or no preparation before facing the press.
Zacharia appeared the part with her broad smile, blonde hair, navy blazer and pencil skirt. But sources said she fell short on the job’s most important requirement: promoting Trump
Susie Wiles is pictured with Zacharia, right, and Natalie Harp, left, as they leave Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
“She looked as if she had been handed a sheet of paper at the last minute and had not been properly prepared,” a source in Trump’s circle said. “So who in the building wanted to see her fail?”
As Our News Outlet previously reported, Trump hired Zacharia on impulse, without consulting his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, or carrying out what sources described as serious vetting.
Zacharia is also facing growing questions about her claim to be a lawyer. The Wall Street Journal reported that she has not passed a bar examination in any state.
When a reporter asked Tuesday where she had passed the exam, Zacharia replied, “when I moved to China.”
She received a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011. However, earning a law degree does not by itself permit someone to practice law; that generally requires passing a bar exam and securing admission to a state bar.
“Her hiring and the briefing show that this White House is collapsing now that it is facing real pressure,” a senior Trump administration official told Our News Outlet.
“They have no idea who to hire. We’re entering wartime, and they’re completely unequipped.”
The White House press office, however, characterized Zacharia’s performance as “commanding.”
Trump was asked about the briefing by reporters later that day and offered a six-word assessment: “I thought she was very good.”
By early Tuesday afternoon, Zacharia was aboard Air Force One, traveling to Alaska for her first official trip with the president.
In Washington, meanwhile, people Zacharia is expected to work with every day were privately criticizing her, sending reporters messages that were far more severe than the White House’s public defense.
‘She should have gone on longer and had substantive answers ready,’ the senior official said. ‘She could barely read.’
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Zacharia spoke with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Tuesday
Others made the obvious comparison to her predecessor Karoline Leavitt, the 29-year-old whose shock departure ahead of the midterms is keenly felt by Trump. He consulted Leavitt on Zacharia before she was hired.
Democrats piled on, with David Litt, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama, telling Our News Outlet: ‘If the White House’s goal is to make Karoline Leavitt look talented by comparison, then Katie Zacharia did an excellent job.’
But the comparison also cuts both ways, with another Trump world communications source arguing that Zacharia is being judged against an impossible yardstick, as Leavitt is widely judged to be the best press secretary in a decade.
‘Look, Katie has never done that before, and I think it’s insane for the press shop to just throw someone to the wolves like that,’ a White House insider said. ‘But it always gets better.’
While Leavitt had the benefit of learning the game while by Trump’s side during his presidential campaign, the same cannot be said for Zacharia, according to the source.
Zacharia’s path to the podium was as abrupt as her exit from it.
Trump plucked her off television after months of watching her defend him on Fox News and Newsmax, making the offer himself in an out-of-the-blue phone call. Three days later, her hiring was announced on Truth Social without running it past Wiles.
So little vetting was done that the president did not know Corey Lewandowski, the Kristi Noem adviser ousted in March, had handpicked Zacharia for the job as a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Our News Outlet previously reported. She lasted six weeks at DHS before walking out in March.
‘She’s running the show now so somebody had better start prepping her,’ the insider said, calling mother-of-four Zacharia ‘moldable and willing to grow.’
One former Biden administration official gave Zacharia credit, telling Our News Outlet the podium ‘is a contact sport and it’s live’ and that she deserved credit for the courage to get out there so early.
Karoline Leavitt poses with her press shop colleagues in her final days back in August
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia joined Donald Trump as he departed on the South Lawn of the White House for Alaska on Tuesday
Sean Spicer, Trump’s first-term press secretary and the last man to hold the job, also came to Zacharia’s defense.
‘Serving as press secretary is one of the most demanding and intense positions bar none,’ Spicer told Our News Outlet.
‘I practiced for my first briefing for weeks and still had a tough first outing. Katie jumped into the briefing room after 24 hours on the job and held her own.’
For all the opinions flying around Trump’s orbit, an insider noted, only one counts: that of the man who put her behind the podium.
Where he lands decides how long she lasts. Trump famously axed Anthony Scaramucci just ten days into his stint as White House communications director in 2017.
‘Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,’ White House spokesperson Steven Cheung told Our News Outlet when reached for comment.
‘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.’
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