‘White House Barbie’ Mocked After Trump’s New Press Secretary Stumbles Through First Briefing

Blonde hair, a bronzed tan and a series of awkward verbal slip-ups in front of reporters. Katie Zacharia, Donald Trump’s new press secretary, has become the target of ridicule following her first White House briefing. Some are already wondering how long she will last in the job, the Daily Mail reports.

The 41-year-old Fox News commentator, previously dubbed “ICE Barbie” over photos of herself with immigration enforcement officers, faced reporters for the first time on Tuesday, October 13. She opened with a lengthy speech praising the US president, saying she had long dreamed of working for him.

But things soon went off script. While discussing what she described as the United States’ “historic one-day war” with Venezuela, Zacharia stumbled over her words before managing to continue: “Now we have… we have a booming economy.”

An even more awkward moment came when the press secretary spoke about her husband, Tyler, and their four children, who had accompanied her to Washington. Explaining why she did not want to spend evenings away from her family, she accidentally referred to her husband as “my president.”

“The thought of not spending evenings with my children is completely unacceptable. So my president… sorry, my husband. That was a good one! My husband came here for a week,” Zacharia said.

She also struggled to immediately answer a question about whether the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, one of the day’s major talking points.

“I’ll have to check on that,” the press secretary replied.

The briefing lasted just 14 minutes. Zacharia took questions from reporters representing only three media outlets, including the Daily Mail, before unexpectedly bringing the session to an end.

She was appointed to the position this week, replacing Karoline Leavitt, who left the role in August. Zacharia previously worked as a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, but her tenure there lasted just six weeks, ending in March.

Trump himself gave her debut a positive assessment, telling reporters she had been “very good.” Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, however, struck a less optimistic note. Scaramucci held the same position for just 11 days during Trump’s first term.

“The clock is ticking,” he said, hinting that Zacharia’s tenure might be short-lived.