US President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, endured an awkward debut on Tuesday after stumbling over her words several times before ending her first media briefing after just 14 minutes.
The 41-year-old appeared nervous as she took to the podium for the first time, replacing Karoline Leavitt as the White House press secretary.
Zacharia began by thanking Trump for entrusting her with the role, saying she had long wanted to work for the president.
“I’m honoured to take on this role because I’ve wanted to work for him for a long time. I can continue the work already done to expand and strengthen the communication of the president’s agenda to the American people,” she said.
She added that her new responsibilities were not significantly different from her previous role supporting Trump outside the White House.
However, the briefing took an awkward turn when Zacharia accidentally referred to Trump as her husband.
“My president… sorry, my husband,” she said, drawing attention from reporters in the room.
Zacharia took her first question from Breitbart News, a right-wing media organisation that has gained influence during Trump’s second administration.
She also pledged to maintain the new media rotation system introduced by her predecessor, which allows more media organisations to participate in White House briefings and press pools.
However, she answered questions from only three media organisations before bringing the briefing to an abrupt end.
Zacharia told reporters they could question Trump directly on the White House South Lawn, explaining that the president was heading to Marine One ahead of what she described as a historic visit to Alaska.
“I’m going to end this briefing because the president is heading to Marine One for a historic visit to Alaska. You can ask him all your questions there,” she said.
Trump later praised Zacharia’s performance when speaking to reporters, describing her debut as excellent.
“I thought she did a great job and was very good,” he said, adding that she had been a loyal and intelligent supporter from the beginning.
Zacharia previously served briefly as a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security earlier this year before working as a commentator for Fox News and Newsmax.
