Donald Trump urged White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to reconsider staying in her role just one week after her appointment, with a senior White House official telling Fox News that she is already in the process of stepping down. Speaking to reporters in the South Lawn of the White House on Friday, the U.S. president revealed that he had urged Leavitt shortly beforehand to reconsider her decision to remain in the position.
Read more: Katie Zakaria: Under investigation over bar membership claims — scrutiny over her role at a nonprofit, academic background, and work in China
Trump on Zakaria: “Maybe this job isn’t for her”
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to… I think you should think about it again,” Trump revealed he told her. “Maybe this job isn’t for her,” the U.S. president admitted. When asked whether his remarks meant Zakaria had been fired, he quickly denied it. “No, no. I want her to have a good life,” he replied, adding that “the media has attacked her relentlessly.”
Katie Zakaria: On her way out after a turbulent debut
Trump’s intervention comes just four days after Zakaria assumed her duties, having already found herself at the center of intense criticism — both over her professional qualifications and her rocky first appearance before White House reporters on Tuesday, during which she announced the dismissal of Kimberly Guilfoyle from her post as U.S. Ambassador to Greece.
Zakaria officially took up the position on October 9 and held her first press briefing on October 13. However, her performance drew criticism both for the briefing’s brief duration and for several verbal missteps.
The session lasted just 14 minutes, with the new press secretary taking questions from only three journalists.
Among the incidents that drew commentary was a moment in which she accidentally referred to her husband as “my president,” before quickly correcting herself.
The criticism continued following her most recent interviews, in which she attempted to reverse the negative impressions left by her debut appearance.
Who is Katie Zakaria?
Zakaria briefly served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security before leaving the role in March. She is married to Tyler Zakaria, managing director of Moriah Media in Los Angeles, with whom she has four children.
She regularly appears as a commentator on Fox News and Newsmax — two networks with large conservative American audiences.
Most recently, she has been working as a senior communications adviser at Truth Social and Trump Media & Technology Group, according to her LinkedIn profile. Previously, she served as legal counsel at Fix California, a conservative organization that aims to combat what she has described as the “stranglehold of the Left” in the state of California.
The organization was founded by Richard Grenell, who has served as Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela and currently serves as interim president and executive director of the Kennedy Center in Washington.
