President Donald Trump said Katie Zacharia “freaked out” when confronted with questions from reporters during her first and only White House briefing as press secretary.
Trump made the remarks while campaigning for Republican candidates in Florida on Friday, as he reflected on Zacharia’s brief five-day stint as White House press secretary.
“No wonder that poor young woman — she was a perfect, beautiful woman — when she walked into that press room and they started screaming at her, she freaked out,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments came a week after Zacharia’s departure from the White House, following a turbulent first briefing on October 13 and mounting scrutiny over her professional background.
Zacharia was officially appointed press secretary on Monday October 12, after Karoline Leavitt announced her departure from the role earlier this year. By that Friday, October 16, her tenure had ended, making her the shortest-serving permanent White House press secretary in history.
Zacharia told Newsweek on Friday that she remained "ruthlessly loyal" to Trump and would continue fighting for the president everyday.
“It was an honor to work for President Trump, and no one has been more relentlessly attacked by the media than him," she said. "The best is yet to come."
Zacharia added that in the week that she had worked for the president, she had seen him working "around the clock."
"As Rudyard Kipling wrote, ‘If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch.’ After a week with him on the midterm blitz, I saw that in action: working around the clock with world leaders—bringing hostages home and brokering peace—while speaking to crowds of Americans to win the midterms and deliver for the people," she told Newsweek. "No one has carried the water for the Republican Party and America First like he has for over a decade, all without losing the common touch."
Trump had previously defended Zacharia against criticism from reporters, saying the media had treated her unfairly. He also revealed last week that he had encouraged her to reconsider the position, questioning whether the demanding job was right for her.
...
“I just asked her, ‘Is this for you?’” Trump said at the time, adding that he had told her he would reconsider the role if he were in her position.
Zacharia’s first briefing drew attention for several exchanges with journalists, including questions about her legal credentials. She graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school but did not pass the California bar exam, according to previous reporting. The controversy intensified after she struggled to clarify questions about where she had passed a bar examination, prompting further scrutiny of her claims about her legal background.
Following her departure, Zacharia publicly thanked Trump for the opportunity and reaffirmed her support for his administration.
“Answering the president’s call to serve was an honor,” she said.
Trump has yet to announce a permanent replacement for Zacharia. Several names have been floated as potential candidates, including White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly and conservative commentator Scott Jennings.
This is breaking news, updates to follow.