Trump’s New Press Secretary Roasted Over Debut Briefing: ‘SNL Cold Open Come to Life’

President Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, faced a brutal reception Tuesday after her first briefing, with critics mocking her halting delivery and comparing her debut to a “Saturday Night Live” sketch.

Zacharia, who replaced Karoline Leavitt, stumbled through prepared remarks and appeared visibly nervous during the roughly 14-minute briefing, which featured questions from just three reporters. Journalist Aaron Rupar offered a particularly cutting assessment on X: “Katie Zacharia makes Karoline Leavitt seem like Winston Churchill.”

Sports radio host Henry Lake was similarly unimpressed, predicting that Zacharia’s tenure could provide plenty of material for late-night comedy. “The SNL skits might be legendary,” he wrote.

Even body language experts weighed in. Dr. Lillian Glass criticized Zacharia’s monotone delivery, awkward smiling and failure to connect with reporters, according to the New York Post, which described the new press secretary as visibly nervous during her debut.

The criticism wasn’t limited to outside observers. One administration official told MS NOW’s Jake Traylor that Zacharia had gotten off on the wrong foot and needed to improve quickly, warning that she could otherwise break Anthony Scaramucci’s record for an exceptionally brief White House tenure, according to The Daily Beast.

Zacharia’s debut wasn’t entirely without news. She confirmed that the Trump administration had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece following allegations of misconduct. But it was the new press secretary’s performance, rather than the announcement, that drew some of the sharpest immediate reactions online.

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