WASHINGTON — Karoline Leavitt has weighed in on her first successor as White House press secretary, saying the job “wasn’t for” Katie Zacharia.
Leavitt told Fox News that being President Trump’s spokesperson “takes a lot of preparation and sometimes you don’t know how someone is going to behave until they get there.”
“We wish Katie the best. This job obviously wasn’t for her, but we wish her and her family well,” she added.
Zacharia served as Trump’s press secretary for five days, giving a brief briefing where she was visibly nervous. Since leaving, she has returned home to California and remained silent, captured in public working out and wearing a MAGA hat again.
But Zacharia’s supporters are crying foul over Leavitt’s not-so-subtle assessment.
“It’s unfair that the former press secretary continues to bully President Trump’s chosen successor,” a source familiar with Zacharia’s thinking told the Post.
“Katie has insisted on not giving interviews to friendly or hostile press, has refused feature stories and would like coverage to focus on President Trump’s hard work,” the source continued. “She won’t go on a self-promotion tour because it doesn’t benefit the president. And she remains ruthlessly loyal while facing unprecedented attacks against her.”
Behind the scenes, some in the administration admit Zacharia had a rocky start.
She arrived from California for an interview with President Trump the Friday before starting her job, then returned to California to pack her things and returned to Washington DC this weekend. Monday was dedicated to onboarding: filling out the paperwork and general information needed to work for the government.
Her first briefing was Tuesday morning, which was essentially her first full day on the job, and she was sent into the press room to face the media.
“I have always been deeply grateful for the opportunity to support President Trump and his agenda in the media in the years before he asked me to become press secretary,” Zacharia told the Post.
“There is no other president in history like him. He single-handedly saved America through his effective policies, and no one has been more relentlessly attacked by the media than President Trump.”
She continued: “He deserves fair coverage of the real victories he is delivering for Americans: historic border security, massive new investments in manufacturing and energy, and the women’s health initiative that he and the First Lady just launched. I continue to fully support the incredible work he is doing for the American people and for America’s interests around the world.”
The administration is not expected to hire a new press secretary until after the November midterm elections.
“I wouldn’t expect anything new before the midterms,” a close source told the Post.
Leavitt said she was helping the president find a new person to fill one of the administration’s most public roles, which she called “one of the most difficult jobs in politics.”
“I offered my assistance to the president to help him choose someone who can serve him and the country well,” she told Fox.
But she declined to offer a list of names being considered for the role.
“I will keep my private advice to the president private, but I obviously talk to him about what the job entails, and he knows that very well. Nobody understands the press better than Donald Trump. He knows he needs someone who is tough, who is smart, who understands his policies, who is loyal and who can go out there and fight,” Leavitt said.
“A lot of people want this job…It’s just up to the president to make that decision.”
Leavitt received rave reviews for her work as press secretary. She resigned in August to spend more time with her family, which includes two young children.
But she remains with Team Trump, working for the president’s political arm as a spokesperson.
She was in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Wednesday to speak about the Make the Heaven Crowded Tour, where she explained how she prepared for her press briefings.
“I prepared like hell for this particular first briefing,” Leavitt said. “I put a lot of effort into my preparation. I read. I studied. I talked to every member of the cabinet. I talked to the president.”
Leavitt also spoke to Pod Force One’s Miranda Devine late last year about getting on the podium in the briefing room.
“The press conference room can be combative, and sometimes behind the scenes too, but I tell our team that we have to be professional and provide them with facts, and no one does that better than President Trump,” she said.
Zacharia, meanwhile, told the California Post she has no regrets.
“I’m proud that I said yes, stood firm in what I believe, and continued to support the president even when circumstances weren’t ideal for me – showing my children what courage in the face of criticism looks like,” she said.
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