Kimmel Mocks Zacharia’s First White House Briefing

Katie Zacharia’s first White House press briefing drew criticism from late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who mocked her delivery and compared the debut to a first day of kindergarten. Zacharia, President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, appeared at the briefing on October 13, reading prepared remarks and taking questions from three media organizations before the session ended. During his Tuesday-night program, Kimmel played footage of Zacharia reading from notes and joked that her reading was “good for an 11 year old.” He also called the briefing her “first day of kindergarten.” His monologue included further personal and political jokes, including remarks about her appearance and her loyalty to Trump. One moment at the briefing that featured in Kimmel’s segment came as Zacharia spoke about her family. She referred to her husband as “my president” before correcting herself to “my husband.” The footage of the exchange and the briefing formed the basis for much of the commentary about her debut. Kimmel also recounted a question about Zacharia’s law credentials.