After a turbulent five days in the role, Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary, two White House officials familiar with her departure told MS NOW on Friday. The sources were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It was not immediately clear whether Zacharia resigned or was fired. President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he told Zacharia to “reconsider” her role.

Zacharia delivered her first and only press briefing Tuesday, which lasted just over 14 minutes. She took only three questions — from right-wing outlets Breitbart and Fox News and the tabloid the Daily Mail — and failed to answer the first policy question she was asked. Democrats mocked her performance shortly thereafter, and although some right-wing commentators defended her, two White House officials conceded to MS NOW that her debut at the podium was weak.

Zacharia defended her performance in an interview Thursday with Fox News host Sean Hannity, telling him she had “very little prep time.” But she faced additional tough questions in an interview Friday morning with “Fox and Friends,” when the hosts asked if she thought she still had the confidence of the president. She replied, “I’m standing here, and I was able to travel with him … and I hope to be able to build the trust and confidence of everyone around me.”

In the days after her appointment, questions swirled about her past experience, including her references to being a lawyer. Although she obtained a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, she said this week that she did not pass the bar examination. She said she did not intend to mislead anyone about her legal credentials, telling Real America’s Voice that it was a “miscommunication.” In the Friday morning Fox interview, Zacharia said she was not asked about her legal education during her interview process because it was not relevant to the job.

Responding to a reporter Friday who asked if he wanted Zacharia to “stick around ultimately,” Trump said he planned to talk to her when he returned to the White House from Georgia.

“I just said, ‘I think you should reconsider because I think the press is really being very unfair,’” he said.

Trump announced Zacharia as his new press secretary on Oct. 9, filling a vacancy left by Karoline Leavitt, who departed in August to spend more time with her two young children.

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who was fired after just 11 days in the role during Trump’s first administration, posted on X following the news of Zacharia’s departure: “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.”

Zacharia is the second woman in the Trump administration to leave a high-profile job this week. At the Tuesday press conference, Zacharia announced that officials had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign from her post as U.S. ambassador to Greece, following allegations of misconduct first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Guilfoyle confirmed her departure but has denied any wrongdoing.

Prior to being named press secretary, Zacharia was a commentator on right-wing news channels and had served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security and for the Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social.

Zacharia and her family — she is married with four children — are scheduled to have dinner with Vice President JD Vance and his family at Vance’s residence on Friday, according to a source familiar with the plans. The source, who was given anonymity to speak on a personnel matter, said there is still warmth for Zacharia within the Trump administration.

Julianne McShane, Eugene Daniels and Vaughn Hillyard contributed to this report.

The post Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary after just 5 days appeared first on MS NOW.

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From MS Now.