Washington, October 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Katie Zacharia has praised US President Donald Trump as “kind and thoughtful” while confirming her departure as White House Press Secretary after just five days in the role, amid conflicting reports about whether she was fired or would move to another position.
In a post on X, Zacharia described Trump as “kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking” and said she wished more Americans appreciated him. She added that she believed no one would make America great in the way Trump had and continued to do.
“It was an honour to work for him,” she said, marking the end of her brief stint as the administration’s chief spokesperson.
US media reports differed on the circumstances of her exit. CNN, citing presidential advisers, reported that Trump had fired Zacharia. NBC News, quoting a senior administration official, said she was “transitioning into a new role” that would be announced later.
The departure came hours after Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn that he had discussed the pressures of the job with Zacharia and offered her the option of leaving. He said the media had treated her unfairly and that he would let her decide whether to continue.
Zacharia, a conservative commentator and former senior communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, took over the post on October 12. She held her first White House briefing the following day after Trump selected her on October 8 to succeed Karoline Leavitt, who left the position at the end of August.
Her maiden briefing lasted less than 15 minutes. She announced that Trump had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador to Greece but could not confirm whether Washington had halted intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.
Zacharia also faced questions about her legal credentials after Trump referred to her as an attorney. NBC News reported that a senior administration official confirmed she had not passed the California bar examination.
No successor has been named. NBC News, citing two people familiar with Trump’s thinking, reported that he was unlikely to appoint a new press secretary soon. The vacancy comes less than three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
Zacharia’s tenure was shorter than that of Anthony Scaramucci, who served 11 days as White House communications director during Trump’s first term. Scaramucci acknowledged the comparison in a post on X, writing that records were made to be broken but adding that he took no pleasure in other people’s pain.
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