Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has offered a frank assessment of Katie Zacharia’s brief tenure as her successor, saying the high-profile role “obviously was not for her."
Reflecting on whether President Donald Trump had picked the right person for the job, Leavitt said that the position requires extensive preparation, noting that it can be difficult to predict how someone will perform until they face reporters in the briefing room.
“Well, look, White House press secretary is a tough job,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital Thursday. “I know that because I did it, obviously, for almost two years, and many people say it’s one of the hardest jobs in politics. It takes a lot of preparation, and sometimes you don’t know how someone will perform until they go out there.”
“The job, obviously, was not for her, but we wish her and her family well," Leavitt added.
Leavitt added that Trump was continuing to consider potential replacements and said she had offered to help him identify a candidate who could serve both the president and the country.
However, a source familiar with the matter told Newsweek that Leavitt's remarks about her successor were "quite unsavory,” especially in the light of how frustrated Trump appeared during the Marine One gaggle on Friday, shortly before news of Zacharia's departure broke. "They've been so nasty to her," Trump told reporters at the time, referring to the media. "I said, to her, 'Honestly if I were you, I'd reconsider."
“She is the spokesperson for MAGA Inc., and it is her job to support his endorsed candidates and hand-selected staff and this is a clear deviation from that responsibility,” the source added.
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Leavitt Outlines What Trump Needs in a Successor
Leavitt declined to discuss the specifics of any private conversations with Trump about the selection process, but she outlined the qualities she believes the next press secretary should possess.
“Well, I’ll keep my private counsel to the president private,” she said. “But I do, obviously, talk to him about what the job entails, and he knows it very well.”
She added that Trump understands the media landscape and knows the type of spokesperson he wants representing his administration.
“Nobody understands the press better than Donald Trump,” Leavitt said. “He knows he needs someone who is tough, who is smart, who understands his policies, who is loyal, and who can go out there and put up a fight.”
Leavitt said there were plenty of qualified candidates interested in the position, leaving the final decision to the president.
Who Could Replace Zacharia?
Several potential candidates have been floated as possible successors to Zacharia, including Anna Kelly, the White House principal deputy press secretary, Danielle Alvarez, a White House communications aide; conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings; and Monica Crowley, a former Fox News anchor who is serving as chief of protocol at the State Department.
Trump's choice will determine who takes on the task of defending his administration's policies, responding to questions from the White House press corps and communicating the president's message to the public.
Meanwhile, Zacharia, 41, still had plenty of praise for the president despite her short tenure and told Newsweek she was "deeply thankful" for the opportunity to "support Trump and his agenda in the media in the years before he asked me to serve as press secretary."
"There is no other president in history like him. He has single-handedly saved America with his effective policies, and no one has been more relentlessly attacked by the media than President Trump," she said.
"He deserves fair coverage of the real wins he is delivering for Americans—historic border security, massive new investments in manufacturing and energy, and the women’s health initiative he and the First Lady just launched. I continue to fully support the incredible work he is doing for the American people and for America’s interests around the world."