MAGA is defending Trump’s new press secretary. His staff isn’t convinced

Insiders worry that Trump’s snap decision to select Zacharia against the advice of his chief of staff echoes mistakes of his first term, writes Andrew Feinberg

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Three days into her tenure as White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia’s shaky performance at her debut briefing is testing the Trump White House’s MAGA messaging machine and exposing divisions within the administration not seen since the chaotic days of President Donald Trump’s first term.

The neophyte spokesperson spent eight minutes of that reading — haltingly — from a scripted statement before she took softball questions from three conservative-leaning outlets and made a hasty exit after confusing the president with her husband and announcing the firing of Trump’s U.S. ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.

The White House’s public messaging kicked into gear immediately thereafter, with Communications Director Stephen Cheung posting on X that Zacharias’ debut was “a tremendous start.”

The White House’s official X account similarly described the performance as “a commanding inaugural press briefing,” and President Trump offered praise a short time later when he told reporters: “I thought she was very good.”

Defenders of the administration fanned out across social media and television throughout Tuesday evening and Wednesday, if not to praise Zacharia’s performance than at least to savage her critics as biased — or worse.

Santorum mocked liberal commentators and late-night television hosts for mocking her performance and suggested that they were attacking the new press secretary because she is white, comparing the criticism to Democrats’ defense of Zacharia’s Biden-era predecessor, Karine Jean-Pierre.

Fox News host Sean Hannity also invoked Jean-Pierre, who was routinely disparaged by Republicans during her tenure, and complained that Zacharia “has been mocked, attacked over her appearance, her hair, the way she spoke” and questioned about her legal credentials by people who once defended the former Biden spokesperson.

Another insider, a current West Wing denizen, said Zacharia’s outing in the briefing room on Tuesday was “beyond brutal” and suggested that she’ll be on a short leash and will either dramatically improve rapidly or see herself out of the job she campaigned for so effectively.

Since Karoline Leavitt’s departure, The Independent understands that Wiles was attempting to entice CNN commentator Scott Jennings, the network’s high-profile Trump defender, to replace Leavitt in order to keep the press secretary’s job in the hands of someone who is polished, professional, and understands the complexity of the role.

Not only does a press secretary need to be able to duke it out with reporters in the briefing room, he or she is also tasked with running a large staff who respond to press inquiries at all hours, advising the president and keeping abreast of what is happening behind the scenes.