Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
Just over 14 minutes, just three questions, and one gaffe. The brevity of President Donald Trump's new spokeswoman, Katie Zacharia, took White House accredited journalists by surprise. Accustomed to her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, who personally knew many of the reporters and held press conferences lasting at least half an hour, those present said they were taken aback by Zacharia's decision to end the meeting so quickly.
As a BBC correspondent, who has been covering the White House for nearly four years, put it, it was "without a doubt the shortest briefing" he'd ever witnessed, "and by a huge margin." At the close of the press conference, gasps of surprise erupted from the room, while several journalists loudly asked if and when the spokeswoman would return to the podium.
Even some journalists from openly pro-Trump outlets called the meeting “strange.”
The main news announced by Zacharia was the Trump administration's request that Kimberly Guilfoyle resign as US ambassador to Greece. The spokeswoman was unable to clarify whether Washington would stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine, limiting herself to promising updates.
Otherwise, Zacharia spent much of the brief meeting explaining how he intends to balance his new role with his family life, emphasizing that Trump is "his own best spokesperson." This statement suggests that, at least for now, the president may be speaking directly to the press more often. During the briefing, he also made a mini-gaffe referring to his private life: "The president... sorry, my husband... That's a good one..."
international/foreign
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