That was clearly her first rodeo.

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia held her first press conference Tuesday, kicking things off with a rocky first attempt.

Zacharia opened by haltingly reading aloud a statement that did little beyond praise President Donald Trump, pausing at odd intervals to glance up from her binder and smile, interrupting herself as she did so.

Here’s her first interminable minute behind the podium:

Zacharia: As we are in the middle of the midterm blitz with energy and excitement never seen before in the history of midterms, thanks to President Trump. Just look no further than last night in Youngstown, Ohio where President Trump delivered another blockbuster rally out on the… pic.twitter.com/ye1dSyrLZj

Having finished the 8-minute statement, Zacharia gave the first question to a Breitbart reporter, who lobbed the softest question: “Can you tell us what you plan to do to continue to ensure that new media voices continue to be heard here at the White House?”

Zacharia said she loves new media.

The reporter followed up with a zinger about presidential travel: Will Trump’s travel schedule “intensify here in the next couple of weeks leading up to the midterms?”

Zacharia said, “Absolutely, you can expect more of the midterm blitz.” She then glanced again at the binder before adding, “Uh, just now we’ve added Kentucky.”

Next up: Fox News’ White House correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked how she views her role, saying, “Is your job just to speak about White House matters, or is it to make things less tough for Republicans in the midterms?”

Zacharia proceeded to convincingly describe herself and her job as the head propagandist for Trump, albeit using different terms.

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

Doocy then asked the only substantive policy question of the entire briefing, which went unanswered.

“Has the U.S. stopped sharing intel with Ukraine?” he said.

Zacharia apparently didn’t know.

After another softball question about how she balances being a mother of four kids and also having a job, Zacharia cut the briefing off ― just 13 minutes after she’d begun.

A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity offered a brutal read on Zacharia’s performance to MSNOW and compared her to Anthony Scaramucci, who infamously served as the communications chief for just 11 days during Trump’s first presidency.

“Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot,” they said. “She needs to get much better fast, otherwise she’ll break Scaramucci’s record.”

Ruhle: "Wow. I want to just read this to you. A quote from a White House official reaction to Zacharia's first press briefing. 'Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot. She needs to get much better fast, otherwise she'll break Scaramucci's record.'"

Asked to assess Zacharia’s performance, former President Bill Clinton’s White House press secretary, Joe Lockhart, called it “bizarre,” noting she’s plainly not qualified or ready for the role.

“It was a little bizarre to rush her out there, and then rush her out of the room. I’m not sure what they were hoping to accomplish, but I don’t think they built any confidence in her ability to go forward,” he told CNN’s “Situation Room.”

“There is no way for her to be ready to do this job, even under the way Trump defines the job,” he said, noting he spent months learning the intricacies of U.S. foreign policy before he stepped up to the podium for the first time.

Despite the blatant missteps, White House communications director Steven Cheung was quick to declare victory.

“A tremendous start for the new White House @PressSec!” He said. “She commanded the room and effectively reminded the American people of all the great work President Trump and his Administration has done thus far.”

Prior to her White House appointment, Zacharia worked as a Trump Media advisor with occasional appearances as a commentator on Fox News.

Based on her Truth Social posts, however, she’s more of a MAGA conspiracy theorist than a staid communicator of government policy.

An investigation by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski found she’s accused Democrats and Hollywood elites of being pedophiles and/or “pedo cannibals,” amplified nonsensical claims about Michelle Obama’s genitalia, and called former President Joe Biden “pedo Hitler.”

While those posts are still live, other social posts, including one where she warned the GOP faces a “bloodbath” in the midterms, and another where she amplified questions about the Justice Department “covering up” the Epstein files, have been deleted.

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