Katie Zacharia holds first briefing as White House press secretary

Katie Zacharia held her first White House press briefing Tuesday after replacing Karoline Leavitt as President Donald Trump’s press secretary.

Zacharia spent much of the roughly 15-minute appearance reading a prepared statement that highlighted the administration’s record on energy, tariffs and immigration, as well as Trump’s campaigning ahead of the November midterm elections. She described her role as an opportunity to “amplify, multiply and expand upon” Trump’s agenda and said the president remained “his own best spokesperson.”

She took questions from three outlets — Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail — and said she would retain the expanded media rotation introduced under Leavitt. Asked about reports that the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, Zacharia said she would have to provide an answer later.

During a question about balancing the job with raising four children, Zacharia briefly misspoke, saying “my president” before correcting herself to “my husband.” She said her family would move from California to Washington.

Zacharia ended the briefing by saying reporters could direct further questions to Trump before his departure for Alaska. CNN reported that several White House officials and advisers privately criticized the performance as awkward and insufficiently prepared, although one adviser noted it was her first briefing. Trump publicly defended Zacharia afterward, telling reporters, “I thought she was very good.”