Trump’s new press secretary out after less than week

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia was dismissed from her position after less than a week on the job, following a series of missteps that have caused additional stress for President Donald Trump. According to a White House source, the decision was made public after Fox News reported that Zacharia, 41, was transitioning out of the role.

Trump had made it clear earlier in the week that he was prepared to let his newly appointed spokeswoman go due to criticism over her pretense of being a lawyer and her one, highly criticized press briefing.

Zacharia began her tenure on Friday, replacing Karoline Leavitt, who had been instrumental in reshaping White House coverage by fostering friendly relationships with media outlets and aggressively targeting critical media. Her first press briefing on Tuesday lasted under 15 minutes, during which she read out what she believed to be Trump's many achievements, asked only three questions from journalists, and then faced controversy when it was revealed that her previous claims of being a lawyer were false.

Zacharia had misrepresented herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media, although she acknowledged that she had failed the bar exam and thus could not practice law in the United States.

The mishap caused further distraction for the 80-year-old president as he travels across the country to support Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 congressional midterm elections, with polls indicating that Trump is likely to face significant losses. The president also grapples with declining poll numbers due to concerns over the war in Iran, rising inflation rates, and perceptions of corruption.

Despite Zacharia's attempts to address the situation with damage-control interviews on Trump-friendly outlets, she was unable to salvage her position. In one of these interviews, Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close Trump ally, dismissed her, questioning whether she had ever retaken the bar exam, to which she replied, "I did not. It was never my intent to go into the practice of law."

In another interview with pro-Trump outlet Real America's Voice, Zacharia claimed she had registered to take the bar exam but was overwhelmed by plans to move to China with her husband. She also disparaged China during a Fox and Friends interview, stating that she remembered thinking China would soon surpass the U.S. However, her comments about China's lack of proper toilets drew criticism. The Chinese foreign ministry responded to Zacharia's remarks, urging her to visit China more often.