BREAKING: Trump says he told Zacharia to ‘reconsider’ press secretary role
The Hill reports:
President Trump told reporters Friday that he told Katie Zacharia that she should “reconsider” her role as White House press secretary after her rocky start to the job this week.
“I said, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,'” Trump told reporters, referring to a conversation he said he had with Zacharia earlier.
“I said, ‘You think about it, but I would reconsider,'” he continued.
Trump told reporters the decision is ultimately up to Zacharia. When asked how much time he will give her, Trump said he will talk to her when he returns to the White House. The president is heading to Georgia for a rally then to Florida for much of the weekend.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Zacharia had been fired. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
The departure of his second press secretary of his second administration comes roughly two weeks before the midterms elections in which Republicans are facing massive headwinds.
Trump announced one week ago that Zacharia would be taking on the press secretary role, which was previously held by Karoline Leavitt.
Over the weekend, Zacharia blanketed the airwaves on conservative media, but hit a significant rough patch during her first press briefing on Tuesday.
Zacharia appeared visibly nervous and flustered during the briefing which only lasted roughly 14 minutes. She only took three questions from mostly conservative-leaning outlets and broke the news that the administration had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to step down from her role as U.S. ambassador to Greece.
The newly minted press secretary garnered more scrutiny shortly after the briefing when she accompanied Trump to gaggle with the press on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One.
Zacharia, who has identified herself as a lawyer on television, was asked in front of Trump which state she took the bar exam in, to which she responded “when I moved to China.”
The Wall Street Journal reported later that evening that Zacharia had failed the bar exam. The watchdog group Campaign for Accountability subsequently filed a complaint with the State Bar of California on Wednesday over her claims that she is a lawyer.
Zacharia said in an interview with the conservative news outlet Real America’s Voice that she “misheard” the question, but said her bar exam results were “inconsequential.”
However, Zacharia invited more criticism during interviews with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday evening and “Fox and Friends” on Friday, in which she was pressed by the conservative hosts over her qualifications and her bumpy start to the job.
Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House communications director during Trump’s first term for only 11 days, reacted to the news on the social platform X.
“Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain,” Scaramucci said.
My comment:
Did he hit her with the door on the way out?
President Trump told reporters Friday that he told Katie Zacharia that she should “reconsider” her role as White House press secretary after her rocky start to the job this week.
“I said, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,'” Trump told reporters, referring to a conversation he said he had with Zacharia earlier.
“I said, ‘You think about it, but I would reconsider,'” he continued.
Trump told reporters the decision is ultimately up to Zacharia. When asked how much time he will give her, Trump said he will talk to her when he returns to the White House. The president is heading to Georgia for a rally then to Florida for much of the weekend.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Zacharia had been fired. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
The departure of his second press secretary of his second administration comes roughly two weeks before the midterms elections in which Republicans are facing massive headwinds.
Trump announced one week ago that Zacharia would be taking on the press secretary role, which was previously held by Karoline Leavitt.
Over the weekend, Zacharia blanketed the airwaves on conservative media, but hit a significant rough patch during her first press briefing on Tuesday.
Zacharia appeared visibly nervous and flustered during the briefing which only lasted roughly 14 minutes. She only took three questions from mostly conservative-leaning outlets and broke the news that the administration had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to step down from her role as U.S. ambassador to Greece.
The newly minted press secretary garnered more scrutiny shortly after the briefing when she accompanied Trump to gaggle with the press on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One.
Zacharia, who has identified herself as a lawyer on television, was asked in front of Trump which state she took the bar exam in, to which she responded “when I moved to China.”
The Wall Street Journal reported later that evening that Zacharia had failed the bar exam. The watchdog group Campaign for Accountability subsequently filed a complaint with the State Bar of California on Wednesday over her claims that she is a lawyer.
Zacharia said in an interview with the conservative news outlet Real America’s Voice that she “misheard” the question, but said her bar exam results were “inconsequential.”
However, Zacharia invited more criticism during interviews with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday evening and “Fox and Friends” on Friday, in which she was pressed by the conservative hosts over her qualifications and her bumpy start to the job.
Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House communications director during Trump’s first term for only 11 days, reacted to the news on the social platform X.
“Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain,” Scaramucci said.
My comment:
Did he hit her with the door on the way out?
