Trump's New White House Press Secretary Just Held Her First Press Briefing—And It Was Painfully Awkward

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia held her first press briefing on Tuesday and it was a truly awkward experience as she struggled to read her written remarks from the podium.

According to a source who spoke toThe New York Post, President Donald Trump met with Zacharia in the Oval Office to prepare her for her first White House briefing, delaying her arrival slightly.

During their meeting, he urged her to use the heightened public interest in the event to highlight his administration’s achievements and announce his decision to seek the resignation of U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Following Trump's guidance, Zacharia opened her debut briefing with eight minutes of remarks lauding the "energetic president." She also asserted that "attendance is at record highs" at his rallies before presenting favorable figures on wage growth, prescription drug costs, employment and energy production.

But when she stepped out, it quickly became apparent that Zacharia was unpolished, stumbling over her written remarks and struggling to read her own notes.

At one point, she repeated the words "to build" while highlighting the Trump administration's plans "to build eight large-scale nuclear power plants, something we've needed as the United States and something President Trump promised on the campaign trail and something President Trump delivers on, just like he delivers on every promise."

She paused and tripped over her words as she looked down at her notes, struggling to share the administration's plans "to sell fuel to our allies."

You can watch what happened in the video below.

At another point, she looked flustered as she praised Trump for "a historic one-day war," a "booming economy," and "a great relationship with Venezuela."

Grinning awkwardly during a moment that journalist Aaron Rupar described as "an SNL cold open come to life," she said she was ready to take reporters' questions now that she and they are "officially part of this incredible journey together."

The criticism was scathing.

After only taking a few minutes to answer questions, Zacharia said she would end the briefing "because President Trump is heading out to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska,” despite the fact that Trump was not scheduled to leave imminently. Reporters were not summoned to watch Marine One take off until an hour later.

Administration officials who spoke to The New York Post admitted that Zacharia was "nervous" but said she shouldn't be judged by her first briefing. One official said she looked "stunning," which the publication noted is "something beneficial in the eyes of Trump, who favors staff who have looks 'out of central casting.'"