Katie Zacharia, who served as President Donald Trump‘s White House press secretary for just five days, reportedly pushed for interviews with Fox News. The 42-year-old conservative commentator sought two interviews, which were scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
Katie Zacharia reportedly sought Fox News interviews before leaving Trump’s White House after five days
The New York Post obtained text messages in which Zacharia, who was appointed on October 9, discussed her planned media appearances with a White House official. The bookings were pushed back by a day. She wrote in the text, “I’d like to do news hits morning and evening.” The outlet reported that Zacharia addressed her failure to pass the California bar exam during an interview with Sean Hannity on Thursday night and an appearance on Fox & Friends on Friday morning. However, she reportedly struggled to discuss other issues beyond prepared talking points.
One source described the interviews as a “sanctioned hit”, suggesting that Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, may have been behind them. The source also said Wiles had not approved Zacharia’s appointment in advance. However, the text messages suggest that Zacharia was behind efforts to secure more television appearances for herself.
Trump then expressed doubts about her suitability for the position. He said Zacharia might not be suited to represent the government as its top spokesperson. “Maybe it’s not for her,” he admitted. The mother of four replaced Karoline Leavitt in the high-profile role in Washington, DC.
Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011 and was a former Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Her stint as press secretary lasted only five days, breaking the previous record for the shortest tenure in the role. Anthony Scaramucci held the record after serving as Trump’s White House communications director for 11 days in 2017.
