Trump fires bumbling White House press secretary Katie Zacharia after just 5 days

| Live News reporter Published October 16, 2026 6:57pm Updated October 16, 2026 7:10pm White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is ‘transitioning out’ of the role after five days (Picture: Reuters) Katie Zacharia has held the White House press secretary role for less than a week – and she’s already been fired. She gave a clumsy first speech five days ago, prompting President Donald Trump to urge her to ‘reconsider’ her post, despite originally insisting she did a ‘very good’ job. Recalling his conversation with her, speaking before boarding Marine One, he said he told her: ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider. ‘Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this.’ A White House official then confirmed she is ‘transitioning out’ of the position. Zacharia helmed just one briefing on Tuesday, after which, Trump says, the media treated her ‘very, very badly’. Trump initially said Zacharia did a ‘very good’ job (Picture: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Still, he describes her as a ‘very nice person’, despite clearly having little faith in her public-speaking abilities. Zacharia, 42, is a political commentator who has frequently appeared on Fox News and Newsmax. In her debut address, described as ‘painful’ to listen to, she spoke briefly, and observers noted she seemed ill-prepared and nervous. The whole thing lasted 14 minutes and saw Zacharia stumble over her words, even though she read directly from notes. Her legal background then came under scrutiny, as headlines questioned whether she had misrepresented herself as a lawyer. The president called her ‘an attorney’, even though she failed the bar exam. Having lasted a mere five days, this makes Zacharia’s stint even shorter than that of Anthony Scaramucci, who was press secretary for just 10 days in July 2017. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.