By Kaitlan Collins, Alayna Treene, Kit Maher, CNN
(CNN) — Several White House officials are questioning how long Katie Zacharia will keep the press secretary job after her first briefing Tuesday, noting her performance was unlikely to satisfy President Donald Trump.
One called her fleeting initial appearance unusual, and another characterized it as “brutal.”
Zacharia appeared at the podium for only about 15 minutes, and most of that time was dedicated to an opening statement touting Trump’s accomplishments. About 5½ minutes were spent on questions from the press.
She called on only three reporters, and she appeared to have their names on a prewritten list: one from conservative outlet Breitbart, which was in the “new media” seat, another from Fox News and the last at the Daily Mail.
The briefing was notably shorter than what had become the norm. Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s briefings lasted for about an average of 45 minutes. During her first briefing, she called on two “new media” reporters before an Associated Press correspondent. She would also take questions from reporters standing in the aisles.
Other advisers to the president described Tuesday’s briefing as awkward, stilted and, at times, uncomfortable. Another told CNN that while Zacharia “wasn’t great,” it was just her first press briefing. They expected Trump would give her the benefit of the doubt.
“No question we’re all missing Karoline,” said one adviser.
Zacharia said she was cutting the briefing short because Trump would likely soon take reporter questions on the White House South Lawn before he departed for Alaska.
“I am going to end it because President Trump is heading out to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska, and we can ask him all of the questions out there,” she said.
It is unclear on what cadence Zacharia will brief reporters. A CNN Reliable Sources analysis of the White House video archive found Leavitt, who departed the role in August, held formal briefings about once a week on average before having her second child. She held 14 briefings in the four months leading up to her maternity leave in late April.
She held another 49 briefings through the rest of 2025, which included several nontraditional briefings.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.
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