USA. – Katie Zacharia's time as Donald Trump's White House press secretary ended after only five days, after her first week in the position was dominated by criticism and questions about her background.
Fox News reported on Friday, 16 October that Zacharia had been removed from the position. Coverage of her departure followed after Trump told reporters he had advised her to reconsider whether she wanted to do the job.
He also argued that the media had treated her unfairly and that the job could be particularly difficult. A White House official described her departure as a transition out of the role, according to reports.
Zacharia started her new job on Monday and held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday. The briefing lasted approximately 14 minutes and she answered questions from three reporters.
Her brief appearance drew criticism, including over the limited number of questions she answered. Zacharia later defended her performance, saying she had less than eight hours to prepare before she appeared before the press.
Questions about her legal background increased the pressure further. Trump had described her as an attorney when announcing her appointment. Zacharia, however, acknowledged in a television interview that she had not passed the California bar exam.
According to reports, after her law degree from Pepperdine University, she had planned to move to China with her husband. She explained that she had not retaken the exam and defended her description as a law graduate.
Before her appointment, Zacharia was a communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Trump's social network Truth Social. She had also previously worked as a spokesperson at the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Her departure comes shortly after Trump announced that she would succeed Karoline Leavitt. Her brief tenure raised questions about the expectations placed on White House public spokespersons.
Sources: Fox News; CBS News; The Washington Post.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
