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

Katie Zacharia, newly installed as White House press secretary, has drawn skepticism from inside the administration after a rocky first briefing, according to The Independent. The session ran only 14 minutes. Zacharia read a statement for roughly half of that, then answered questions from three conservative-leaning outlets, mixed up the president with her husband, and announced that Kimberly Guilfoyle was out as ambassador to Greece.

Official messaging was glowing. Communications Director Stephen Cheung said she had commanded the room, and President Donald Trump said he thought she was very good. Allies on television went on offense: Rick Santorum of Newsmax and Fox News host Sean Hannity cast the ridicule as unfair, pointing to the treatment of predecessor Karine Jean-Pierre. Santorum alleged critics were motivated by Zacharia's race.

Privately, The Independent reports, others disagree. One former official called the debut a train wreck, and a current West Wing staffer called it brutal and said she may have little time to improve. Chief of staff Susie Wiles reportedly had been courting CNN's Scott Jennings for the job, but Trump chose Zacharia while Wiles was unavailable.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →