Trump personally coached Katie Zacharias before the 14-minute briefing; what happened

US President Donald Trump personally coached new White House press secretary Katie Zachary in the Oval Office shortly before her first press briefing on Tuesday, asking her to use the intense interest in her debut to highlight her administration’s achievements and announce her decision to seek the resignation of US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, according to a report by The New York Post.

Trump called Zachariah into the Oval Office shortly before her briefing, which was scheduled for 9:30 a.m., causing her to arrive slightly late, the news outlet said, citing a source familiar with the matter. Trump also shared his decision regarding Guilfoyle, which Zacharia subsequently announced to reporters.

Zacharia, who was named to succeed Karoline Leavitt on Friday, had just one day to prepare for a briefing and meet her new staff in person. Her first appearance on stage lasted about 14 minutes, with about eight minutes spent praising Trump and six minutes answering questions.

Katie Zacharia’s first White House briefing: 8 minutes of Trump praise, 6 minutes of questions

Zacharia opened her first briefing with a statement praising what she called the president’s energetic leadership. She highlighted Trump’s recent campaign rallies and his policies on energy, tariffs and immigration, along with positive data on wages, drug prices, employment and energy production.

She also said attendance at Trump’s rallies has been record high.

Zacharia described her role as an extension of her work advocating for Trump before entering the administration, saying her goal was to advance his agenda.

“I’m already doing what I’ve been doing on the surface, which is to hope to expand, multiply and expand President Trump’s incredible agenda for the American people,” she told reporters.

She also described Trump as “his own best spokesman” and thanked him for the appointment, saying she had wanted to work for him for a long time.

The question and answer session lasted about six minutes. Zacharia challenged reporters from Breitbart News, Fox News and the Daily Mail. A photo of her notes is said to have shown that the three reporters were pre-selected.

She pledged to continue the “new media” spin Leavitt had put in place that brought more media into White House briefings and into the press pool.

Zacharia then abruptly ended the briefing, saying reporters could question Trump as he left the White House aboard Marine One for a trip to Alaska.

“I’m actually going to end it because President Trump is heading to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska and we can ask him all the questions there,” she said.

Trump praises Katie Zacharias after brief debut

Trump praised Zacharias’ performance as he left the White House for his trip, more than an hour after the briefing ended.

“I thought she did excellent. She did very well,” the president told reporters, with Zacharia standing behind him.

Trump announced her appointment on Friday, describing her as a “loyal and brilliant supporter” and praising her academic background and political advocacy.

Zacharia previously worked as a senior communications adviser at the Trump Media & Technology Group and served briefly as a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year. She has also appeared as a commentator on Fox News and Newsmax.

She replaces Leavitt, who resigned in August to take a job at Fox News Channel.

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