Karoline Leavitt on Katie Zacharia’s brief stint as press secretary: ‘The job wasn’t for her’

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a candid assessment of Katie Zacharia’s brief tenure as successor, saying the high-profile role “obviously wasn’t for her.”

Questioning whether President Donald Trump had chosen the right person for the job, Leavitt said the position requires extensive preparation, noting that it can be difficult to predict how someone will behave before facing reporters in the briefing room.

“Well, look, White House press secretary is a tough job,” Leavitt said. Fox News Digital Thursday. “I know because I’ve done it, obviously, for almost two years, and a lot of people say it’s one of the hardest jobs in politics. It takes a lot of preparation, and sometimes you don’t know how someone is going to behave until they get started.”

“This job, obviously, was not for her, but we wish her and her family well,” Leavitt added.

Leavitt added that Trump continued to consider potential replacements and said she had offered to help him identify a candidate who could serve both the president and the country.

However, a source close to the matter said News week that Leavitt’s remarks about his successor were “pretty unsavory,” especially in light of Trump’s frustration at the Marine One rally on Friday, shortly before Zacharia’s departure was announced. Trump told reporters at the time that the media had been “very mean to her” and said he had urged Zacharia to reconsider accepting the job.

“She is the spokesperson for MAGA Inc., and it is her job to support its endorsed candidates and hand-selected staff and this is a clear departure from that responsibility,” the source added.

Leavitt describes what Trump needs in a successor

Leavitt declined to discuss the details of any private conversations with Trump about the selection process, but she highlighted qualities she believes the next press secretary should possess.

“Well, I will keep my private advice to the president confidential,” she said. “But I obviously talk to him about what the job entails, and he knows that very well.”

She added that Trump understands the media landscape and knows the type of spokesperson he wants representing his administration.

“No one understands the press better than Donald Trump,” Leavitt said. “He knows he needs someone tough, smart, who understands his politics, who is loyal and who can go out there and fight.”

Leavitt said there were many qualified candidates interested in the position, leaving the final decision up to the president.

Why did Karoline Leavitt resign?

Leavitt announced on August 12 that she would step down as White House press secretary at the end of the month, citing her desire to spend more time with her young family after returning from maternity leave.

In a statement posted to social media, Leavitt said she struggled to balance the demands of the job and motherhood after the birth of her daughter, Viviana, on May 1. She also has a young son, Niko, with her husband, Nicholas Riccio.

“The truth is that since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom that my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy and attention required as White House Press Secretary,” Leavitt wrote, describing her departure as a “bittersweet decision.”

Leavitt later provided more details about the workload in response to a question on Instagram about why she left the White House while continuing to make television appearances.

“As a press secretary, I worked in the office more than 60 hours a week, traveling around the world and always on call, 24/7,” she wrote. “Now I’m home with my kids every day and I’m doing hit movies on TV. They’re not the same things, ma’am.”

His departure comes amid reports of a security-related plane change involving Trump during a trip to Türkiye in July. Trump was secretly transferred to another plane after authorities identified a potential threat against him, while journalists and some members of his travel group remained on the original plane. The president said the Secret Service ordered the change.

The incident sparked speculation online that Leavitt left her position because she was not informed of the change. However, Leavitt explicitly dismissed this account in an Instagram response in October, calling the rumor false. “I wasn’t on that plane. I wasn’t even on that trip. I was at home with my kids,” she wrote.

Leavitt added that even if she had made the trip, the incident would not have been reason enough for her to resign, saying the threats were part of the job. “Every time you board Air Force One, you know the risk of traveling with the President,” she wrote. “Threats come with the job.”

Trump publicly supported Leavitt’s decision to leave and said she would remain a trusted outside advisor and influential voice within the Republican Party.

How Zacharia’s 5-day stay compares to other press secretaries

Katie Zacharia’s five-day tenure as White House press secretary was the shortest in the position’s history, but she’s not the only one with only a very brief tenure as press secretary.

The previous record for the shortest tenure of a permanent White House press secretary belonged to Jerald terHorst, who served for 32 days in 1974 before resigning in protest after President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon.

Other press secretaries who have served relatively short tenures include Jonathan Daniels, who served in the role for 48 days in 1945, and Sean Spicer, Trump’s first press secretary during his initial term, who served in the role for about six months before resigning in July 2017.

Stephen Early, who served as press secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt for more than 12 years, also served briefly as acting press secretary under President Harry Truman in December 1950. He served in this temporary position for 14 days after the death of his successor, Charlie Ross, before the appointment of Joseph Short.

Zacharia’s departure also sparked comparisons to Anthony Scaramucci, known as “The Mooch,” who spent just 11 days in the Trump administration in July 2017, albeit as White House communications director and not press secretary.

Who could replace Zacharia?

Several names have emerged as possible candidates to replace Zacharia, including officials from the current administration and conservative media figures, although Trump has not yet announced his choice.

Anna Kellythe White House’s principal deputy press secretary, is among the potential internal candidates. Kelly previously served as national press secretary for the Republican National Committee and worked on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Scott Jenningsa conservative CNN political commentator, has also been mentioned as a candidate. Jennings previously worked in Republican politics, including as communications director for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and as an adviser to former President George W. Bush. He has said publicly that Trump should prioritize experience, credibility and the ability to handle difficult exchanges with journalists when choosing his next press secretary. Jennings did not confirm he was seeking the position.

Danielle Alvarezformer Republican National Committee spokeswoman and White House communications aide, is another name under discussion. His experience in political communications could be relevant in the administration’s search for someone who can defend Trump’s policies and communicate his agenda.

Monica Crowleya former Fox News anchor who currently serves as chief of protocol at the State Department, has also been floated as a possible candidate. His experience in television could be an asset in a role that involves frequent interactions with the press.

Other names mentioned in the reports include Katie Miller, Stephen Miller’s wife and conservative podcast host and former press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, and Hogan Gidley, who served as principal deputy press secretary during Trump’s first administration. Stephen Cheung, the White House communications director, has also been raised as a possible option.

Zacharia remains supportive of Trump after his departure

Despite her five-day stint as White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, 41, continued to express her strong support for President Donald Trump, telling Newsweek that she was “deeply grateful” to have had the opportunity to support his administration in the media before he selected her for the role.

“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 said.

Zacharia added that Trump deserved fair coverage of what she described as his administration’s accomplishments, including border security, investments in manufacturing and energy, and a women’s health initiative launched by the president and first lady. She said she continues to “fully support” his work on behalf of Americans and American interests abroad.

Newsweek Reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors about this story: Samantha Beech And Gray R.Thomas