Katie Zacharia was reportedly discussing her plans as the new Press Secretary in an interview. Then she found out she was fired

Katie Zacharia was in the middle of talking about her goals for the job when she was called out of an interview with The Wall Street Journal. The California mother of four, who is 41, had only held the White House press secretary position for five days at that point. The Journal later described the scene in detail.

She was sitting in a small West Wing office that contained just a few personal belongings, such as a white orchid, a curling iron, and heels stored on a shelf beside a cosmetic bag. The conversation with the Journal was underway when Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the president, knocked and said, “JD wanted to chat with us real quick,” meaning the vice president. Zacharia stepped out and did not return to the interview or the role.

At roughly the same time, President Trump was heading to his new helipad and spoke with reporters about a talk he had with Zacharia earlier that day. “I said, ‘Is this for you Katie? Because honestly, you don’t need this,’” he recalled, then added about her choice to take the position, “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.”

Zacharia outlined her preparation challenges and schedule in the days before the firing

Her first briefing had drawn attention for its short length and limited interaction. It ran for 14 minutes, during which she spoke from prepared notes in a shaky manner and answered only three questions from outlets the Journal described as friendly.

Two days later she went on Fox News’ Hannity. The longtime anchor asked about how the briefing had gone and also raised repeated claims that she had never passed the bar exam, even though the president had referred to her as an attorney. Scrutiny of her background also extended to now-deleted posts about habeas corpus. 

When she sat down with The Journal the following day, she gave no sign she expected to be removed. She described the lead-up to the briefing as difficult, saying she had received less than a full day to prepare and got background materials only on the morning of the event. That limited window, she explained, was the reason she relied on notes. 

Zacharia said, “The truth is that I have a hard time saying ‘no’ because I want to be a team player.” She described herself as “trying to, in short form, get all of my ducks in a row and step up to the plate.” She also made clear she was not assigning blame for the quick turnaround. “I’m not going to blame the White House – no,” she stated.

She further recounted staying up late Thursday to mark her son’s birthday after the Hannity appearance, then getting just three hours of sleep before a Fox & Friends hit. 

“I’m just running on no sleep and high adrenaline and probably too much caffeine and no food,” she told the Journal. On staffing, she said there would be continuity. “There are no staffing changes that are happening,” she said. “I’m trying to keep everyone cohesive.”

Later that night, after the firing had already occurred, Zacharia offered her view of the brief tenure. “I did everything in my power to effectuate a briefing in the limited time and information I had,” she said. “My goal was to serve President Trump and the American people to the best of my ability.”