(Screengrab via CNN)
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins was left searching for words after President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, wrapped up her first White House briefing after taking only three questions.
“It was kind of bizarre because it was a press briefing, but there was only two questions that were taken by the new press secretary,” said Collins, CNN’s chief White House correspondent. “Actually, let me adjust my count. She took three questions.”
Zacharia took one question from the Trump-friendly “new media” seat and two from reporters in the briefing room. She then abruptly ended the briefing, noting that Trump would be leaving the White House in 45 minutes and would take questions then.
“I’m not really sure that I’ve ever been to a press briefing where there were only three questions in the briefing,” Collins told CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer. “It was quite unusual, especially for the first press briefing, which, you know, was widely touted by the White House and announced by the president.”
“It started 15 minutes ago, so I don’t really know what to say,” she added.
CNN’s Pamela Brown said she was caught off guard, too. “When she closed her binder, I thought, wait, this couldn’t be it, right?” she said.
Collins explained that Zacharia had very little time to prepare since her hiring, after the White House had struggled for months to replace Karoline Leavitt, who announced over the summer that she was stepping down to spend more time with her family.
Zacharia, who previously worked at Trump Media and had a short stint at the Department of Homeland Security, was announced abruptly after meeting with Trump in the Oval Office last week, Collins said, and started the job just one day before her first briefing.
Collins noted that was a quick turnaround, adding that press secretaries normally run practice sessions with staff and meet directly with the president beforehand.
The short briefing produced a major piece of news when Zacharia announced that Trump has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece. That follows a Wall Street Journal report alleging Guilfoyle sought money from a Trump donor in exchange for access to administration officials, which she has denied through her attorneys.
Blitzer suggested the questions had come from reporters friendly to the administration, but Collins disagreed, pointing out that Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked whether the U.S. was still sharing intelligence with Ukraine, and Zacharia couldn’t answer.
“She said that she would have to check and get back on whether or not the United States is still sharing intelligence with Ukraine and its partners,” Collins said.
“But, Wolf,” she added, “that was pretty much it for this press briefing.”
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