Confirming her departure, Zacharia praised US President Donald Trump, calling him “kind and thoughtful” and saying it had been an honour to work for him. Katie Zacharia has left her position as White House press secretary after just five days, in what US media reports describe as the shortest tenure in the role’s history.
She held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday, but the session lasted less than 15 minutes. CNN, citing advisers to the President, reported that Trump had fired her. During the briefing, she announced that Trump had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador to Greece. Zacharia’s departure leaves the White House without a permanent press secretary at a crucial time for the Trump administration, with the midterm elections approaching and no immediate replacement announced.
No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to,” Zacharia wrote in a post on X, adding, “It was an honour to work for him. NBC News, quoting a senior administration official, said she was “transitioning into a new role” that would be announced later. He said he had asked her whether she wanted to continue in the demanding role. And I just spoke to her about it,” Trump said. “Just two minutes ago, I said, ‘Katie, you know, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want. She said, ‘This is a lot tougher. I said, ‘Welcome to the world of Trump.
“President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him. Zacharia’s departure came hours after Trump spoke to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before leaving for a trip. “Katie’s been treated very badly by the media, very, very badly, very unfairly, I think. I’m going to let her make that decision,” he added. However, she was unable to say whether Washington had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
Her departure was reported on Friday, with US media offering differing accounts of the circumstances.
