New White House press secretary slammed after bizarre slip over her husband

Tuesday turned out to be an eventful day inside the White House briefing room.

For the first time, newly appointed press secretary Katie Zacharia stepped behind the famous podium to face reporters.

It was supposed to be her introduction to the White House press corps. Instead, the brief appearance quickly attracted attention for an awkward slip involving her husband.

Zacharia was named President Donald Trump’s new press secretary on October 9, replacing Karoline Leavitt, who left the position in August. Before joining the White House, Zacharia had worked as a conservative commentator and communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group, as well as briefly serving as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.

Her first briefing lasted only around 14 minutes, with Zacharia taking questions from just three news outlets before wrapping things up.

But one moment in particular quickly became the talking point.

An awkward mix-up

Toward the end of the briefing, Zacharia was asked a personal question about how she planned to balance the demanding White House role with raising four children.

The question was particularly relevant given that her predecessor, Leavitt, had cited wanting to spend more time with her family when she left the role

Zacharia began by praising her husband and explaining just how important family life remains to her.

“Well, first of all, I want to give my husband an amazing shout out. We have four kids ranging from 12, 10, 8, and 6; three of them are boys, so we have a handful. And I adore my family, I love them, they are my priority. I love being with my kids. The idea of not spending evenings with my kids is completely unacceptable.”

OMG she is brutally bad at this

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 13, 2026
Then came the slip.

“So, my president — excuse me, my husband — that’s a good one.”

The mistake drew laughter from reporters in the room, and Zacharia quickly continued, explaining that her husband and their children were in Washington because the family had two birthdays to celebrate.

“My husband is out here — he’s out here for the week because we have two birthdays in our family and we are very, very protective of celebrating birthdays as a family. So, he brought the entire crew out here, bless him, it’s a lot. And we will be moving out here.”

The “my president” mix-up soon began circulating online, where critics seized on the moment and mocked Zacharia’s first appearance.

“She is brutally bad at this,” one social media user wrote

acharia: My president… excuse me, my husband… that’s a good one

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 13, 2026
“This has gotta be an SNL skit,” another joked, while someone else compared the moment to “Me presenting my first Powerpoint at school.”

Others were more forgiving, pointing out that Zacharia had barely started the job.

“First day on the job. Cut her some slack,” one person wrote.

“First time public speaking is always hard. She’ll do better next time,” another added.

A very short first briefing

The husband mix-up wasn’t the only reason Zacharia’s debut drew attention.

Her appearance lasted roughly 14 minutes, and that was a noticeable change from Leavitt’s time behind the podium. Her briefings typically ran for around 45 minutes and often included spontaneous questions from reporters throughout the room.

Zacharia, meanwhile, took questions from just three outlets — Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail — calling on them from a prepared list.

She then wrapped up the briefing, pointing out that reporters would soon have another opportunity to question Trump directly on the South Lawn before he left for Alaska

Despite the brief appearance, Zacharia did deliver a significant piece of news, announcing that Trump had asked U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign amid reports of alleged misconduct.

One Trump adviser told CNN, “The best thing she did was break the news about Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle – at least that takes the focus off of her performance.

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia makes speech during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, United States on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Can Hasasu/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Zacharia also explained how she views her new position.

“I get to do what I was doing on the outside already, which was hoping to amplify, multiply and expand upon President Trump’s incredible agenda for the American people,” she said.

She also thanked Trump for choosing her for the high-profile role.

“I have wanted to work for him for a very long time.”

Despite the short briefing, Zacharia did make one significant announcement, confirming that the administration had asked U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign.

“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.

Mixed reaction inside the White House

The response to Zacharia’s debut wasn’t limited to social media.

According to reporting following the briefing, some people within Trump’s orbit questioned why the new press secretary had been sent to the podium so soon after taking the job.

One Trump adviser was particularly critical of Zacharia’s debut, telling CNN, “She should have been doing murder boards for two weeks before going up there,” while describing her performance as “brutal,” stilted and uncomfortable.

“Why did they put her out there so quickly?” another White House official reportedly said. “Literally zero reason to put her out on her second day, unprepared.”

Another adviser reportedly acknowledged that the briefing “wasn’t great,” while suggesting Trump would likely give Zacharia the “benefit of the doubt” because it was her first appearance.

The president himself offered a very different assessment.

Speaking to reporters later that day, Trump praised his new press secretary’s performance.

“I thought she did excellent. She did very good,” he said

The White House also publicly celebrated the briefing, describing Zacharia’s debut as a strong introduction to her new role.

Who is White House press secretary Katie Zacharia’s husband?

After all the attention surrounding Zacharia’s first briefing, it’s worth taking a closer look at the man she briefly referred to as “my president” before correcting herself to “my husband.”

Zacharia is married to Tyler Zacharia and the couple have four children together.

Her husband works as a film producer but has largely stayed out of the spotlight.

Tyler earned his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, where he studied international politics and military security. During his college years, he also spent time studying abroad in Beijing, an experience that eventually led to a job with a private equity firm.

He later continued his education at Pepperdine University, earning his MBA in 2016.

According to his LinkedIn, he is a film producer and serves as chief operating officer of 2521 Entertainment. He also oversees business operations for Boies Schiller Entertainment and CenterStage Technologies

Not much is publicly known about how Tyler and Katie first met or when they got married. However, Tyler referred to Katie as his wife in a 2016 interview with Pepperdine Magazine, indicating that they were already married by that point.

Katie is also a Pepperdine alum, having earned both her undergraduate degree and law degree from the university.

With both of them balancing demanding careers, Katie has previously spoken about the importance of working as a team in their marriage.

“To the extent possible, he integrates family on work trips. … There’s always the push and pull,” she told LA Mom Magazine. “The way we do it best is teamwork.