Katie Zakaria, the new press secretary for U.S. President Donald Trump, has lost her position just five days after taking office. The New York Times reported this on Friday (October 16), citing three individuals familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the decision for her to step down has not yet been officially announced. However, Trump told reporters on Friday that he had suggested she reconsider her decision to remain in the role.
“Honestly, if I were you, I would reconsider,” Trump remarked.
He further asked her, “Katie, do you really need this job? I don’t think you need it.”
Trump suggested that she might continue working with him in a different capacity—one that could be “more comfortable.”
A few hours after Trump’s comments, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung informed The New York Times that Zakaria is moving into a new role, with details to be announced later.
Zakaria, who assumed her duties last Monday, held her first—and final—press briefing on Tuesday. During the session, she spent most of the time reading from a prepared statement.
She concluded the Q&A session after answering only three questions from journalists. Subsequently, a heated controversy arose regarding her credentials as an attorney.
Although Trump introduced her as an “attorney,” questions were raised about whether she had actually passed a state bar exam.
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When a journalist on the White House South Lawn asked her which state she had passed the bar exam in, she replied twice: “When I went to China.”
Later, Zakaria told The New York Times that she had misheard the journalist’s question—even though Trump was standing right beside her and had repeated the question himself. On October 9, Trump offered the position to Katie Zakaria, a little-known commentator at Fox News. She was unfamiliar to many White House officials, though she did have the support of Natalie Harp, a close associate of the President.
Last Thursday night, Zakaria appeared for an interview on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program. Hannity, known to be a close ally of Trump, posed several tough questions to her. She faced similar questioning the following Friday morning on the show “Fox & Friends.” When host Lawrence Jones asked whether she should have informed the President beforehand that she had not passed the bar exam, Zakaria replied, “Lawrence, I wasn’t asked those questions.”
Katie’s departure occurred amidst a week of ongoing instability within the Trump administration. Last Tuesday, news emerged that Kimberly Guilfoyle—who had been tapped for the role of U.S. Ambassador to Greece—was dismissed on television. Around the same time, Trump attempted to mediate a conflict between two of his close associates, Richard Grenell and Alina Milledon.
Additionally, Paolo Zampolli, a long-time associate of Trump, was forced to step down from his position at the State Department. Meanwhile, questions have also been raised regarding the overseas earnings of several individuals within Trump’s inner circle, including the daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Taken together, the departure of Katie Zakaria just five days into her tenure has sparked fresh discussion regarding the state of communications within the Trump administration.
