US President Donald Trump’s latest press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has left the role days after her appointment, following a rocky first briefing and public remarks by the president questioning whether she should remain in the job.
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia has left her position just days after taking up the role, following a difficult start that included a brief first press briefing and criticism of how the media treated her.
The announcement came after President Donald Trump told reporters he had urged Zacharia to reconsider whether the demanding job was right for her.
“I said: ‘Is this for you, Katie, because honestly you don’t need this. You don’t have to be treated this badly,’” Trump said, describing her as a “very nice person”.
The president accused the media of treating Zacharia “very, very badly” in recent days, adding: “Welcome to the world of Trump.”
Zacharia, 42, was appointed as the sixth chief spokesperson across Trump’s two administrations. She made her first White House briefing on Tuesday, but the session ended abruptly after about 14 minutes, according to the BBC’s North America editor, Sarah Smith.
Trump initially appeared satisfied with her performance, telling reporters on Tuesday that she had done “very good”. However, doubts about her future emerged later in the week, particularly after she was notably absent from some of the president’s activities.
Before joining the White House, Zacharia was a political commentator who frequently appeared on conservative television networks Fox News and Newsmax.
She previously worked as a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security and as a communications adviser for Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social. Earlier in her career, she interned with the Republican National Committee and the White House Office of Political Affairs during the George W. Bush administration in 2006.
Trump had praised her loyalty in a social media post on Friday, describing her as “a devoted fan and member of MAGA” and commending her record of support.
After her first briefing, Zacharia travelled with Trump to Alaska, Arizona and Montana as the president campaigned ahead of the November midterm elections.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, she said she had “hit the ground running” and expressed enthusiasm about accompanying Trump on the campaign trail.
“All of these rallies are making a substantial difference for these midterms,” she said. “I’m so excited to be along the journey with him.”
Her departure drew a reaction from Anthony Scaramucci, who served briefly as White House communications director during Trump’s first administration before leaving after 10 days.
“Records are made to be broken,” Scaramucci wrote on X. “But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.”
Zacharia’s brief tenure adds to the turnover among Trump’s senior communications officials, highlighting the pressures associated with representing a president whose relationship with the media has frequently been confrontational.