Well, that didn’t last long. Katie Zacharia, who became White House press secretary just five days ago, was fired Friday afternoon, The New York Times reported, after President Donald Trump told reporters she should “reconsider.”
Zakaria has been in the position for less than a week, but has generated considerable controversy in that short time. Her first briefing on Tuesday lasted only 14 minutes, taking questions from only three reporters from Breitbart News, Fox News and the Daily Mail, and appeared flustered and disorganized. Meanwhile, questions about her qualifications came into focus because she claimed to be a lawyer but never actually passed the bar exam. Her long history of pushing far-right conspiracy theories like QAnon has also resurfaced.
Zakaria subsequently appeared on Fox News twice, but neither seemed to go well. On Thursday night, Sean Hannity confronted her about her false credentials and told her, “I can give you some unsolicited advice. That’s never going to be a friendly room for you,” referring to the White House press corps. The next morning, she appeared on “Fox & Friends” and was asked if she still had “confidence” in the president. “II–I stand here and I’m able to sit with him throughout the midterms – or, sorry – midterms, and I hope to build trust and confidence in everyone around me,” she responded.
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Clearly, she doesn’t have Trump’s trust. The president told reporters at the White House on Friday that he told her “honestly, if I were you, I would reconsider.” He added that he would leave the decision up to her but said they would speak when he returns to the White House, according to CNN. “Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this,” he said he told her. A few hours later, she came out.
Many people online compared Zakaria’s short tenure to Anthony Scaramucci, who was appointed White House communications director during Trump’s first term in 2017 but only lasted 11 days. “To be more precise: Zacharia is about 0.4 times bigger than Scaramucci,” Lawfare senior editor Anna Bower wrote on Blue Sky. Zacharia replaces secretary Caroline Leavitt, who resigned in August.
😳 Zacharia flames out on Fox News for the second time in 12 hours 😳
With the wreckage of Katie’s Hannity fiasco still smoldering, Katie appeared on “Fox & Friends” and was once again grilled by the Fox host.
Lawrence Jones: It’s been a rough week for you. Would you like to disclose to the President your failure to pass the bar exam?
Zechariah: No one asks these questions
Here is the entire snippet:
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 16, 2026
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