Katie Zacharia had barely stepped away from the White House podium following 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 told the Daily Mail. 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 nothing but a dumpster-fire emoji.
The comments were part of a wave of criticism aimed at Zacharia, 41, after Tuesday’s briefing. People inside Donald Trump’s orbit privately messaged the Daily Mail, likening the performance to a political car crash.
On the surface, Zacharia appeared to fit the image of a White House press secretary. With her broad smile, blonde hair, navy blazer and pencil skirt, she projected confidence on only her second day in the role. But according to sources, she failed to deliver what they viewed as the central responsibility of the job: promoting and defending Trump.
She struggled with prepared remarks, stumbled over sentences and briefly referred to Trump as her husband. Zacharia also surprised reporters by telling the Daily Mail that the president had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to step down as ambassador to Greece. She answered three questions before ending the briefing after just 14 minutes.
Some sources said the episode was especially damaging because they believed Zacharia may have been placed in the briefing room without adequate backing from senior Trump officials.
More than six Trump administration officials told the Daily Mail they suspected she had received little, if any, meaningful preparation before facing reporters.
Zacharia appeared to fit the role with her broad smile, blonde hair, navy blazer and pencil skirt. But sources said she failed to do what the position requires: sell Trump’s agenda
Susie Wiles is pictured with Zacharia (right) and Natalie Harp (left) as they leave Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
“She looked as though someone had handed her a sheet of paper at the last moment,” a source familiar with Trump’s political operation said. “So who in the building wanted to see her fail?”
The Daily Mail had previously reported that Trump brought Zacharia into the role abruptly, without consulting Chief of Staff Susie Wiles or conducting a formal vetting process. Sources now say the tension surrounding that decision is becoming visible at the podium.
“Her hiring and that briefing suggest this White House is buckling now that it is facing genuine pressure,” a senior Trump administration official told the Daily Mail.
“They don’t know who to hire. We’re entering wartime, and they are completely unprepared.”
The White House communications operation, however, offered a far more positive assessment, describing Zacharia’s performance as “commanding.”
Trump was also asked about the briefing later that day. His six-word response was unequivocal: “I thought she was very good.”
By early Tuesday afternoon, Zacharia had joined the president aboard Air Force One for a flight to Alaska, beginning her first official trip with Trump.
Meanwhile, back in Washington, some of the officials and colleagues she will work with were privately criticizing her performance to reporters in unusually sharp terms.
“She should have continued longer and been ready with substantive answers,” one senior official said. “She could barely read.”
Zacharia answered questions from reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Tuesday
Several sources also compared Zacharia with her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt. The 29-year-old’s unexpected departure ahead of the midterm elections is reportedly being felt within Trump’s team, and the president consulted Leavitt before selecting Zacharia.
MUST READ: Doctors Missed Warning Signs Before Schoolgirl Died in Hospital
Democrats piled on, with David Litt, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama, telling the Daily Mail: ‘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), the Daily Mail 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 the Daily Mail 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 the Daily Mail.
‘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 the Daily Mail 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.’
Sign up to our DC Insider newsletter – your guide to what’s rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill