Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin Pinpoint Where Katie Zacharia Went Wrong in 'Mess' of a First Press Briefing

Katie Zacharia's first day behind the podium went off the rails – and the ladies on The View certainly noticed, RadarOnline.com has learned.

The new White House press secretary delivered her first press briefing on Tuesday, October 13. Amid a flurry of criticism, Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro pinpointed where they believe things went wrong.

During their Hot Topics segment on Wednesday, October 14, the panel of women dissected Zacharia's performance.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, who typically offers a conservative voice on the show, prefaced the conversation by noting how hard a press-facing job is for any government entity. However, even she was baffled by the MAGA ally, uncertain how she "got through the door" and got hired.

Navarro agreed, emphasizing Zacharia was "lacking" confidence.

"You need to be able to lie, but you need to be able to lie with confidence, not looking nervous," Navarro said. "And that's where I think she is..."

Hostin claimed that was where Zacharia "went wrong."

The media personalities were also alarmed by just how brief Zacharia kept the press briefing. Sara Haines understood it may have been the result of nerves, but claimed that wasn't an excuse in such a critical position.

"I can relate to getting nervous and having stress. I talk on live TV. I know when the brain stops working with the mouth, I think we just lose our point,” she said. "I do understand that, but I have... it was only 14 minutes long. I have spent longer telling my kids we're leaving the house than that briefing."

Navarro joked she's "had bouts of hiccups" longer than the press conference. She called the ordeal a "mess" specifically because of its brevity.

She listed several of Zacharia's other problems, including difficulty reading and answering questions.

"I mean, there's second graders that read at a higher level than she does," Navarro said. "She couldn't answer questions. These were questions that were from hand-picked, curated right-wing media outlets asking her softballs, and she couldn't even answer those!"

Zacharia took over for Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who served in President Trump's second term. Leavitt, 29, was the youngest ever press secretary; Zacharia is 10 years older.

Leavitt left the gig to spend more time with her family after welcoming her second child on May 1, 2026. She returned from maternity leave briefly before deciding to step aside.

Trump wrote on X, "Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!

"Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections."