WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Katie Zacharia has left her post following a devastating series of media appearances and questions about her legal background.
Word of Zacharia’s departure emerged shortly after Trump publicly urged her to reconsider her position as he left the White House for a pre-midterm rally in Georgia.
“Katie’s been treated very badly by the media. Very, very badly, very unfairly, I think. And I just spoke to her about it. I said, ‘Katie, is this for you?’ Because, you know, she’s been treated very rough. And she’s a nice person,” said the president of the press secretary who started work this past Monday.
“I’ve watched her for years on television, but I said, ‘Is this for you, Katie? Because honestly, you don’t need this.’”
The California native is “transitioning out” of her role, a senior administration official told Fox News minutes after Trump’s comments.
The president claimed that the cable giant’s primetime host Sean Hannity “was a little bit tough” on Zacharia in an interview Thursday night and that the hosts of morning show “Fox & Friends” were similarly “a little tough” Friday morning — following a nervous 14-minute initial press briefing on Tuesday.
“She’s been treated, I would say, pretty nastily,” Trump said.
“I said to Katie two minutes ago, I said, ‘Katie, you know, you don’t need to do this if you don’t want.’ She said, ‘This is a lot tougher.’ I said, ‘Welcome to the world of Trump.’”
Asked if he would keep Zacharia in her role, Trump said, “I don’t know, we’ll see. I’m going to let her make that decision” — before giving a clear indication that her fate had been sealed.
“When I get back, we’re going to talk,” he told another reporter. “Because I don’t think that Katie should be made to suffer like she’s suffering at the hands of the press. So I will talk to her as soon as I get back.”
Trump said he intends to keep Zacharia in his administration “in some form, but maybe a more pleasant form.”
“A lot of people want the job. I bet you’d want it if I offered it to her,” he added.
“I just think the press has been very tough on Katie, and I said, ‘There’s no reason for you to have to do this. You’ve got a beautiful family, a fantastic husband and kids.’”
