Katie Zacharia, Trump's new White House press secretary, makes a brief appearance before reporters

WASHINGTON (AP) — Katie Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, faced reporters for the first time on Tuesday for a very brief turn at the lectern, taking a handful of questions before abruptly wrapping it up.

Zacharia, a conservative commentator who most recently worked for President Donald Trump’s social media company, was named to the job on Friday, succeeding Karoline Leavitt, who left in August and is taking a job with Fox News Channel.

Zacharia told reporters her goal is to “amplify” what Trump is doing and that the president is “his own best spokesperson.”

She quickly proved that Tuesday, appearing for only 14 minutes and taking questions from just three outlets before telling reporters they could ask the president their questions on the South Lawn when he departs on a campaign trip.

“In fact, I am going to end it because President Trump is heading out to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska, and we can ask him all of the questions out there," she said.

As the Republican president left the White House for his trip, more than an hour after the briefing's abrupt end, he praised Zacharia’s performance to reporters.

“I thought she did excellent. She did very good," he said, as Zacharia stood behind him.

Before taking the questions, Zacharia read slowly from an opening statement that began with a focus on Trump’s recent campaign rallies and his policies on energy, tariffs, immigration and more since he returned to office.

In naming Zacharia, who has a law degree from Pepperdine University, Trump described her as “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.” She briefly worked as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year and has been a commentator for Fox News and Newsmax.

She told reporters she viewed her role as press secretary to be no different than the way she advocated for Trump while outside the government.

“I get to do what I was doing on the outside already, which was hoping to amplify, multiply and expand upon President Trump’s incredible agenda for the American people,” she said.

She also thanked Trump and said, “I have wanted to work for him for a very long time.”

She took her first question from Breitbart News, the right-wing outlet that has become more influential in the Trump era, and committed to keeping the “new media” rotation created under her predecessor to bring additional media outlets into news briefings and the White House press pool.

But Zacharia did make some big news: she said Trump had asked for the resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.

“She has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her well,” Zacharia said.

Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Josh Boak and Collin Binkley in Washington and Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia concludes her first news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia walks out to speak with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

NEW YORK (AP) — The first big batch of summertime profit reports from U.S. companies is making waves on Wall Street after topping analysts' expectations, but many are canceling each other out. That's leaving stock indexes relatively static and near their records on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% and edged further from its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 190 points, or 0.4%, as of 1:12 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower.

Those modest moves, though, masked some big swings happening underneath the market's surface.

Goldman Sachs, for example, jumped more than 4% at the start of trading after the bank delivered a profit for July through September that blew past analysts’ expectations. But its stock quickly erased all of it and dipped to a modest loss before later returning to a gain of 0.3%.

Goldman Sachs benefited in the summer from strong growth for its business that offers loans to clients for trading stocks, among other things, even as CEO David Solomon said it's dealing with a “complicated operating environment” created by lots of uncertainty.

Expectations are high for profits across all kinds of U.S. companies. Analysts are forecasting overall growth of nearly 30% for companies in the S&P 500 during the summer from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they're correct, it would be the third straight quarter of growth better than 25%.

And companies need to hit those high numbers to justify the record-setting runs for their stock prices despite the many worries on Wall Street about high inflation, increased pressure from the bond market and the war with Iran.

UnitedHealth Group's stock swung sharply even though it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The healthcare company also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026.

After rallying as much as 5.6% shortly after trading began, it erased all of it and fell to a modest loss of 0.2%.

More firmly in the losing column was Wells Fargo, whose stock fell 1.8% after the bank reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, even though its profit topped Wall Street's estimates. CEO Charlie Scharf cited weaker revenue from its venture capital investments, among other things.

But Scharf also gave a potentially encouraging signal about the broader economy and future profits for companies across industries. He said that “our data shows that our consumer and business customers are doing well” despite uncertainty about the economy and recent surveys showing how discouraged Americans have become about their finances.

At the country’s biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon highlighted “elevated asset prices” as one of the potential risks for the economy. He also mentioned high inflation, rising interest rates and “geopolitical conditions.”

“These forces may be manageable, but we remain prepared for a wide range of outcomes,” he said.

JPMorgan Chase's stock rose 0.1% after flipping between gains and losses in the morning. It reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but it also gave a forecast for net interest income in the current quarter that topped Wall Street’s estimate.

Outside of earnings reports, some of the sharpest action was for stocks in the computer chip industry.

Worries have been high for a while about whether chip stock prices have shot too high in the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, and concerns climbed further following reports that China’s memory chipmaker CXMT is making advances that could challenge industry heavyweights like Micron Technology of Boise, Idaho, and Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix of South Korea.

Micron fell 5.1% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. South Korea's Kospi stock index, meanwhile, tumbled 5.5%.

Bumble, meanwhile, leaped 56.2% after the app company that helps people make relationships said it agreed to a $1.3 billion, all-cash buyout by Ithaca Holdings.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after oil prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 5.22% from 5.24% late Friday. Trading in the U.S. bond market was closed Monday for a holiday.

Yields sank following a 0.5% dip for the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil to $106.11. Oil prices have been yo-yoing because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Options traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

A dealer walks past the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Dealers work near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Members of media report near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won are seen at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Dealers walk past the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)