President Donald Trump has fired Katie Zacharia as press secretary, advisers to the president said, ending her turbulent week-long stint as the White House’s top spokesperson.
Trump told reporters earlier he had asked Zacharia to reconsider her role, all but declaring her brief tenure in the job over.
“Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,” Trump said he told Zacharia on Friday morning.
He said they would speak when he returned to the White House after a trip to Georgia and he would leave the decision to her. But he did not sound particularly encouraging of his embattled press secretary.
“Katie, do you need this?” he said he told her. “I don’t think you need this.”
It was a remarkable vote of no confidence in Zacharia, who entered the job a week ago. Her shaky debut in the briefing room on Tuesday and persistent questions about her background had led to immense scrutiny from the media and fellow Trump aides.
Speaking as he was leaving the White House for a political rally in Georgia, Trump said Zacharia had been mistreated by the media and praised her as a loyal supporter.
But he made clear he did not believe Zacharia was suited to speak on his behalf as the government’s top spokesperson.
“Maybe it’s not for her,” he conceded.
Zacharia had captured Trump’s attention as a conservative commentator on television, and her hiring occurred quickly after other candidates were deemed ineligible because of critical comments they made about Trump.
Her inexperience was revealed quickly, however. At the White House lectern on Tuesday, she appeared nervous and only took three questions.
This is a developing story and will be updated.