WASHINGTON — President Trump personally coached his new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, ahead of her first briefing Tuesday, urging her to face reporters almost immediately after a lightning-fast hiring process.
Trump summoned Zacharia to the Oval Office shortly before the 9:30 a.m. briefing, delaying her arrival by several minutes. According to a source who spoke with The Post, he asked her to capitalize on the intense interest surrounding her debut by highlighting his administration’s achievements and announcing his demand for the resignation of US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Following Trump’s direction, Zacharia opened the briefing with roughly eight minutes of praise for the “energetic president.” She cited what she described as record attendance at his rallies and listed favorable figures involving wages, prescription-drug prices, employment and domestic energy production.
The extended introduction left about six minutes for questions. Zacharia selected reporters from Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail, then revealed Trump’s demand for Guilfoyle’s resignation before ending her appearance.
A photograph of Zacharia’s briefing notes showed that the three journalists had been chosen in advance.
Her rapid debut mirrored the speed of her appointment. Early last week, Trump told aides that someone had “floated” Zacharia’s name. He reviewed clips of her television appearances and then called her, with aides present, to ask whether she would leave her advisory position at the company operating his Truth Social platform.
It remains unknown who first recommended Zacharia. However, Trump had told advisers days earlier that he was again focused on finding a successor to Karoline Leavitt.
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After responding enthusiastically during the initial call, Zacharia contacted Trump again Wednesday to assure him that leaving Trump Media & Technology Group would not disrupt the company’s operations.
Trump also sought the views of Leavitt and other senior West Wing officials. Chief of staff Susie Wiles was not on the first call with Zacharia, which Trump initiated without warning, but aides briefed her once the conversation concluded.
Zacharia came to the White House Friday for a formal interview in the Oval Office. Wiles could not attend, but communications director Steven Cheung participated and updated her afterward. Three sources said Trump offered Zacharia the job on the spot, with Wiles learning of the decision before it was announced publicly.
A fourth source disputed a report published Monday claiming that Wiles learned of Zacharia’s hiring from Leavitt. The source said Leavitt had not spoken with Wiles during the accelerated recruitment process.
Zacharia, an attorney and conservative commentator, briefly served as a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson earlier this year. Her tenure ended within weeks during a broader personnel shake-up that followed the departures of Secretary Kristi Noem and her de facto chief of staff, Corey Lewandowski, who was alleged to be romantically involved with Noem.
Lewandowski told The Post by text that Zacharia was chosen for the press secretary role because of “her talent(s) and fierce loyalty to the president.” He did not answer questions about whether he had recommended her to Trump.
Trump announced Zacharia as Leavitt’s replacement Friday, making Monday her first official day on the job. She had only one day to prepare for the briefing and meet her new staff in person.
