Katie Zacharia Pledges to Expand Trump’s Message as White House Press Secretary

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New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia said she plans to “amplify, multiply, and expand” President Donald Trump’s message as she takes on her role as the administration’s spokesperson.

During her first official press briefing, Zacharia said she had supported Trump before joining the White House and intended to continue that work in an official capacity.

“What I hope to do in this position is to take that into an official capacity and only build on, only amplify, only multiply, to the extent possible, all of the wins he’s making for Americans,” she said.

Zacharia said she was honored to serve the President and the American people, thanking Trump for his confidence in her.

“I want to thank President Trump for the trust that he has placed in me. I have wanted to work for him for a very long time. I’m looking forward to working with each of you as well, especially as we are in the middle of a midterm blitz with energy and excitement never seen before in the history of midterms,” she said.

Describing Trump as his own “best spokesperson,” Zacharia said she would work closely with him to explain the administration’s policies and accomplishments to Americans.

Asked how she would manage her family commitments alongside her new responsibilities, Zacharia said her children would remain a priority.

“Though my work will be demanding, they will always be a priority. And President Trump is the most family-friendly President we’ve ever had,” she said. “He has hired more women with families, and the fact that he knew I had four kids and he knew that this job would be demanding, and still placed his trust in me, shows that I know I’m capable of being able to step up to that.”

Zacharia described her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down after the birth of her second child, as an “incredible support.”

“She gave me great and wonderful feedback on how to balance,” Zacharia said. “I think this job is not one you necessarily balance, and I would love to share that, in my career, I stayed home with my kids from 2014 to 2020, in the process of having them. And then, when I started working again, I was able to integrate them into my life.”

Zacharia also said the White House had asked U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign following an allegation that she demanded money from a Trump supporter in exchange for access. “She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well,” she said.

Turning to Trump’s campaign appearances, Zacharia said thousands of supporters attended his rally the previous evening in Youngstown, Ohio, where boxer Jake Paul and former NFL coach Jon Gruden appeared as special guests.

She said Trump planned additional rallies in Alaska, Arizona, Montana and Georgia, following recent appearances in Tennessee, New York, Texas and Nebraska. 

Zacharia also said the Department of War had selected Cleveland, Ohio, as the location for a new U.S. Navy submarine component repair center. The 46,000-square-foot facility would manufacture, repair and maintain key components for new and existing submarines, she said.

She attributed support at Trump’s rallies to his policies on taxes, wages and border security.

“Everyday Americans are showing up in droves to attend these rallies because of President Trump’s America First agenda of lower taxes, higher wages, and one of my favorites, secure borders,” Zacharia said.

Describing rally attendance as reaching record levels, she said supporters were gathering to back Trump and Republican candidates. She also cited wage growth as evidence of the administration’s economic performance.

According to Zacharia, real wages have increased 1.2 percent since Trump took office, with average annual earnings outpacing inflation by $800. She said real wages fell nearly 4 percent during the Biden administration, reducing the average private-sector worker’s annual purchasing power by nearly $3,000.

Zacharia credited Trump with lowering prescription drug prices, describing the decline as the largest in 63 years. She also said more than 1 million private-sector jobs had been created during his second term, including nearly 112,000 factory construction jobs and 72,000 manufacturing jobs this year.

Linking the administration’s energy policies to its broader security priorities, Zacharia said, “Energy security is national security.”

She said Trump secured an agreement giving the United States majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela. Zacharia described it as the largest oil deal in history and said a one-day military conflict had been followed by a stronger relationship with Venezuela.

Zacharia said U.S. domestic oil and natural gas production reached record levels in 2025, followed by record crude oil and petroleum product exports in 2026. She also cited investment commitments of $1.4 trillion from the United Arab Emirates, $600 billion from Apple and $340 billion from Amazon.

“No other President could have gotten these deals done,” she said.

Discussing industrial investment, Zacharia said Mesabi Metallics would build a $15 billion steel complex in Iowa, which she described as the largest steel plant ever built in the United States. According to her, the project would create 1,750 permanent jobs, support up to 6,000 construction jobs and generate an estimated $95 billion in economic output.

Zacharia also said Trump and Anduril had announced Arsenal Two in Maryland, describing the project as “the biggest American shipyard push since World War II.” She said the facility would create approximately 3,100 direct jobs and support more than 11,000 indirect jobs.

She outlined a South Korean energy investment package of up to $200 billion in the United States, including as much as $120 billion to build eight large-scale nuclear power plants.

The package also included $54 billion connected to the Alaska LNG pipeline and terminal, which would supply fuel to allies and Pacific Rim markets, and $22.3 billion for a six-gigawatt natural gas power facility in Texas, Zacharia said.

Turning to federal spending, she said the administration was pursuing fraud investigations alongside its efforts to attract investment.

“Not only is the Trump administration bringing in trillions of dollars to invest throughout the country, but we are also protecting your tax dollars by addressing fraud head-on,” Zacharia said.

She said the administration had uncovered more than $260 billion in fraud since taking office, prevented $72 billion in fraud annually through administrative actions and recovered $58.9 billion through indictments, settlements and civil monetary penalties.

On security policy, Zacharia said Trump had signed an agreement giving the United States lasting control over security interests in Greenland. She also credited his use of tariffs with stopping Chinese production of fentanyl precursor pills.

Zacharia said fentanyl trafficking across the southern border had declined 56 percent and fentanyl-related deaths had fallen 22 percent in a single year. She attributed those declines to Trump’s policies.

“This is a President and administration that is looking out for you,” she said.