New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia listens to US President Donald Trump speaking to the media as he departs the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 13, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Just ahead of firing the newly appointed White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, just five days into her new role, President Donald Trump reportedly told advisors during a meeting with no media or reporters present that Zacharia has “no talent” and “shouldn’t be on television,” insiders toldPolitico, paraphrasing Trump’s words. His critique came after Zacharia's inaugural press conference, where she struggled to answer questions from reporters, stumbled over words, and read from a document rather than speaking off the fly.
Earlier today, President Donald Trump told reporters he asked Zacharia to reconsider staying in the role. "I said to her, 'Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider. You think about it, but I would reconsider,'" Trump said. "I said, 'Katie, you know, you don't have to do this if you don't want,'" the president said. "She said, 'This is a lot tougher.' I said, 'Welcome to the world of Trump.'"
A senior White House officialtold Fox News that Zacharia is "transitioning out" of her role. She has yet to speak directly with the media about her axing.
Zacharia makes history as the shortest-tenured White House press secretary. She beat the record of Anthony Scaramucci, who previously held the record with an 11-day stint as White House communications director in 2017.
Scaramucci spoke on her ousting, writing on social media, “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain,” he tweeted.
Following a press conference that many considered to be disastrous, her week didn’t get much better in her conversations with the media. She appeared in segments on FOX News where she was questioned about allegedly misrepresenting herself as a lawyer.
In an interview with Sean Hannity on Thursday, Oct. 15, he asked her, “You went to Pepperdine law school, but you did not pass the bar exam, correct?” She responded: “Correct.” During her first press briefing, when asked to name the state where she passed the exam, she replied, “When I moved to China.” She later toldThe New York Times in a phone call that she misunderstood the question.
After failing the California bar exam, she reportedly relocated to Beijing after her time at Pepperdine University. While there, she worked as an associate on the international practice team at the Zhong Lun Law firm. In a separate interview withReal America’s Voice, Zacharia said she viewed the results from her bar exam as “somewhat inconsequential” because she knew she’d soon be moving overseas.