President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is reportedly out after just five days on the job.
Her short tenure ended after an awkward first briefing, questions about her legal credentials, and growing criticism from inside and outside the White House.
Zacharia took the podium for the first time on October 13, but her nervous delivery and a slip of the tongue quickly turned her debut into an online talking point.
Highlights
- Katie Zacharia reportedly left her role as White House press secretary after just five days.
- Her debut drew attention after she accidentally referred to her husband as “my president” before correcting herself.
- Trump said the media had treated Zacharia unfairly but acknowledged that the high-pressure role might not have been right for her.
“He will hire another alien,” one joked, while another said, “Her operating system was just too glitchy.”
Donald Trump’s new press secretary has been fired after just five days on the job
Trump’s decision came after a difficult week for Zacharia, who had been appointed to replace Karoline Leavitt.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on October 16, POTUS said he had encouraged Zacharia to think carefully about whether she wanted to continue.
“Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,” Trump recalled telling her. He also said he had asked, “Katie, do you need this?” before adding, “I don’t think you need this.”
Although Trump praised Zacharia as a loyal supporter and said the media had treated her unfairly, he also acknowledged that the job was “maybe not for her.”
A White House official later confirmed that Zacharia was “transitioning out” of the press secretary role. A Trump adviser also said she would leave the White House within the next few days.
Her departure came after advisers raised concerns about her first briefing and her subsequent media interviews.
According to CNN, Trump initially did not consider her debut as bad as some of his aides did. However, her later appearances and conversations with his allies reportedly changed his view.
One person familiar with Trump’s comments said he had wondered whether Zacharia “wasn’t ready for prime time.”
Her five-day tenure was even shorter than Anthony Scaramucci’s infamous 11-day stint as White House communications director in 2017.
Katie Zacharia’s first press briefing drew severe criticism after an awkward slip
Zacharia’s troubles began on Tuesday, when she spent much of the roughly 15-minute briefing reading prepared remarks praising Trump’s presidency, as reported by Bored Panda.
Her nervous delivery attracted attention, but one particular mistake quickly became the biggest talking point.
While answering a question about balancing the demanding job with raising her four children, Zacharia accidentally referred to her husband as the president.
“The idea of not spending evenings with my kids is completely unacceptable, so my president—excuse me, my husband—is out here,” she said.
She attempted to recover by joking, “That’s a good one,” which drew laughter from reporters. However, the moment soon spread online, with some users calling it a “Freudian slip.”
The mistake was not the only reason her debut attracted criticism.
Zacharia answered questions from just three outlets, including Breitbart News, Fox News, and the Daily Mail, before ending the briefing.
Several viewers questioned why she had been given the position without more preparation.
One White House official reportedly asked CNN, “Why did they put her out there so quickly?” The official added that there was “literally zero reason to put her out on her second day, unprepared.”
Online reactions were similarly harsh.
One user wrote, “She is brutally bad at this,” while another joked, “This has gotta be an SNL skit.”
Not everyone believed the criticism was fair, though. Some people argued that Zacharia deserved more time to adjust to a high-pressure role.
“First day on the job. Cut her some slack,” one person commented. Another added, “First time public speaking is always hard. She’ll do better next time.”
The awkward briefing was followed by questions about Zacharia’s professional background
When Trump announced her appointment, he described her as an attorney.
Zacharia had also shared social media posts identifying herself as an “attorney,” and she graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school.
However, Fox News later revealed that she had never passed the bar exam required to practice law. Zacharia confirmed that she had taken the exam once and failed.
She defended her use of the words “lawyer” and “attorney,” arguing that there was a distinction between the two terms.
The explanation drew further scrutiny, particularly because the president had presented her as an attorney when announcing her appointment.
The issue became a major subject during her media appearances as she tried to explain her credentials and demonstrate that she was prepared to serve as the administration’s chief spokesperson, per The Guardian.
During a Thursday night interview on Fox News, host Sean Hannity pressed her about both her debut and her description of her legal background.
“What happened?” Hannity asked about the briefing. “Why get into this long-drawn-out definition of the difference between a lawyer and an attorney? Because I don’t think most people see much of a distinction.”
Zacharia argued that she had little time to prep in the days between accepting the job and holding her first briefing.
Zacharia’s sudden exit also prompted critics to question White House hiring decisions
“Five days? That has to be one of the shortest tenures in White House history,” one person wrote.
Another pointed out the unusual timing of her departure, commenting, “Already!? A new record! We haven’t gotten the SNL version of her press conference!”
Others used the news to criticize what they saw as a preference for loyalty over experience.
“This proves how Trump just hires unqualified people who are just loyal to him, and once they do something he doesn’t like, he fires them. I miss when our government cared about professionalism,” one user wrote.
Another commenter took a more serious view of the situation, saying, “Actually, this is a clear sign that our nation is in crisis and the White House is in chaos, neither of which is funny at all. Either we vote Republicans out of office, or we become a failed nation!”
Trump, however, maintained that Zacharia had been treated harshly. He said her interviewers had been “a little tough” on her and described the media’s treatment of her as “pretty nasty.”
Despite the criticism, sources told CNN that Trump still respected Zacharia personally.
The report also said she and her family were expected to have dinner with Vice President JD Vance and his family on Friday, suggesting that her departure from the role did not necessarily mean a complete break with the administration.
"She couldn't even read," wrote one netizen
