Katie Zacharia makes her debut as Trump's spokesperson with a message of loyalty: 'To communicate in complete tandem with the president'

The new press secretary for the White House, Katie Zacharia, made her first appearance before the media on Tuesday, just one day after taking office and with the midterms on the horizon.

Zacharia's debut was brief and tightly controlled. It lasted barely 14 minutes, during which she praised President Donald Trump, answered questions from only three conservative journalists, and announced that the administration has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign following allegations of misconduct.

A MAGA-aligned replacement

Trump announced on Friday that Zacharia, a senior communications advisor at Trump Media & Technology Group—the parent company of Truth Social—would succeed Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary. Zacharia, a lawyer and conservative commentator, describes herself as a "hardline Trump supporter" and officially began her role on Monday, Columbus Day.

Leavitt left the position in late August following the birth of her second child. Since then, the White House had relied on a rotation of senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

A brief and disciplined debut

Zacharia took the podium in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, although the briefing began about 15 minutes late. After reading from prepared remarks for about eight minutes—in which she thanked Trump for "the honor" of working for him and the American people—she opened the floor to questions, limiting the session to three journalists.

Now, as Zacharia explained, her intention is to "only build on, only amplify, and only multiply, to the extent possible, all of the wins" that Trump is "making for Americans..."

"My goal is to be able to communicate that in complete tandem with the president, as he is his own best spokesperson, and will absolutely be leading the way with that," she added.

During the question-and-answer session, the press secretary only called on three reporters: Nick Gilbertson of Breitbart News; Peter Doocy of Fox News; and Elina Shirazi of the Daily Mail. After answering their questions, she concluded the press briefing by stating that President Trump was about to depart for Alaska and that reporters could ask him their questions directly when he left the White House.

NBC News highlighted the brevity of the meeting and the fact that Zacharia only called on three reporters, all of whom were from conservative media outlets.

The announcement that marked the day

The political news broke when Zacharia confirmed that the administration had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign. "She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well," the spokesperson said.

Zacharia also had a moment of nervousness that quickly went viral on social media. When referring to her husband, she let slip "my president," before correcting herself with a smile. The slip-up revealed the natural nervousness of someone taking on one of the most demanding roles in the White House for the first time and, at the same time, the closeness and loyalty that characterize a spokesperson who fully identifies with the MAGA movement.