Katie Zacharia is leaving her role as Donald Trump’s press secretary after just five days, following a troubled first briefing and questions over her legal qualifications.
Trump said he had urged the 41-year-old conservative media commentator to reconsider the high-pressure position, suggesting that it might not suit her. A White House official later confirmed that Zacharia was “transitioning out” of the role.
“I just spoke to her about it. I said, ‘Katie, is this for you?’ Because she’s been treated very rough, and she’s a nice person,” Trump told reporters on Friday.
He said he had advised her: “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.” Trump added: “She’s got a beautiful husband and family. I said, ‘You should reconsider because you don’t want to go through this’.”
Although he said the decision would be hers, Trump added: “Maybe it’s not for her.” Several US news organisations subsequently reported that Zacharia had been fired, citing people familiar with the matter.
Zacharia did not join the president when he left the White House for a rally in Georgia on Friday. Communications director Steven Cheung instead stood with Trump on the South Lawn as he answered questions.
Questions over Katie Zacharia’s qualifications
The change followed Zacharia’s first White House briefing on Tuesday, when she read from a prepared script, took few questions and struggled with some of her answers.
She also faced scrutiny after acknowledging that she had never passed the bar examination, despite presenting herself as a lawyer or attorney. In separate interviews on Fox News, Sean Hannity and Lawrence Jones questioned why she had not told Trump about it.
“Those questions weren’t asked,” Zacharia told Jones.
She said she had been offered the job the previous Wednesday, travelled to Washington for a White House meeting on Friday, returned to California on Saturday and then flew back to Washington on Sunday before beginning work on Monday.
“What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate to do the press conference with very little prep time,” she told Hannity. “I received briefing materials in the morning of Tuesday.”
Her five-day tenure is the shortest for a White House press secretary in US history, surpassing the 11 days served by Anthony Scaramucci during Trump’s first administration.
Scaramucci said on Friday: “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.” He advised Zacharia to switch off the news and spend time with her family.
Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August to focus on her family after giving birth to her second child in May. The White House is now without a regular press secretary again, only weeks before the midterm elections.
