New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia holds her first press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 13, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Newly appointed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia took several deep breaths Tuesday morning during her high-profile debut at the White House, barely looking up from her notes as she delivered her first White House press briefing.
Smiling, Zacharia dedicated the first few minutes of her first White House press briefing to praising various accomplishments of the Trump administration, but did so with her gaze largely fixed on her notes resting on the podium in front of her. She frequently paused mid-sentence and could be heard taking deep breaths.
Zacharia was tapped by President Donald Trump to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the position, she said, to spend more time with family. Zacharia’s appointment was met with scrutiny due to countless online posts in which she called for Trump to run for a third term or exposed her support for bizarre conspiracy theories.
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