Okay, so it happened: White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is out. Initially, it was reported that she was being transitioned out of the post. Then The New York Times said she was fired, though it later updated its headline to say she’s been “ousted.” Either way, she’s gone.
It followed a brutal first press conference, some very weird remarks about her resume and whether she passed the bar exam — she did not — and her inability to do damage control. Zacharia was grilled by Sean Hannity and others and did not meet the task. It turned out to be a one-two punch and lights out. She has broken a record I never thought possible in professional politics: Anthony Scaramucci’s 11-day tenure as White House Press Secretary (via NYT):
Trump tells the press he told Katie Zacharia "you don't have to do this if you don't want to [...] honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider." "I said, 'Katie, is this for you?' Cause she's been treated very rough [...] I'm gonna let her make that decision." https://t.co/JMM8RvH9U7
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 16, 2026
President Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired Friday, after less than a week on the job, according to three people familiar with the matter.
[…]
Ms. Zacharia had gotten off to a bumpy start with her first and final press briefing on Tuesday, in which she largely read off a script and ended questioning after just three queries. That was followed by an onslaught of headlines about whether she had misrepresented herself as a lawyer — the president called her “an attorney” — despite failing her bar exam.
[…]
She was not a deft communicator.
She had represented herself as a lawyer in the news media, but when asked repeatedly by a reporter on the South Lawn of the White House to say in which state she had passed a bar exam, she twice replied, “When I moved to China.” She later told The New York Times that she had simply misheard the question — even though the president had repeated the reporter’s question to her while standing feet away.
The end was nigh after she appeared on Fox News on Thursday night to be interviewed by the president’s friend Sean Hannity, who asked her a few tough questions and treated her with rare skepticism.
[…]
The reception she got on Friday morning on “Fox and Friends” wasn’t exactly friendly, either.
“Do you wish you would have disclosed to the president about the bar and not passing the bar?” one of the hosts, Lawrence Jones, asked her.
“Well, Lawrence,” Ms. Zacharia responded, “those questions weren’t asked.”
This may not be a popular opinion at the moment, but I can't help but feel bad for @KatieZacharia Yes -- this is her own fault bc she misled abt the attorney/lawyer title when she in fact hadn't passed the Bar. But regardless of politics, she seems like a nice lady who wanted to serve her president. And man. Getting grilled by Hannity and Fox & Friends -- & other friendly media outlets -- after that initial botched presser? All fair questions on their part. But just brutal to watch. Brutal. This is the big leagues, however. Can't take the job unless you know and are ready for the heat.
— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) October 16, 2026
The president opened the door for Katie to exit, essentially telling her to reconsider staying in her position and adding that she didn’t have to do the job. Trump added that he felt Ms. Zacharia was also being treated terribly. Well, sir, a lot of it falls on her.
Anthony Scaramucci commented on the Zacharia news, adding, "Records are meant to be broken, but I take no pleasure in other people's pain."
Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people's pain.
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 16, 2026
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