WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump dismissed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia on Friday after five days in the job, two US officials told Reuters.
Her exit followed questions about her legal credentials and criticism of her first briefing on Tuesday. Zacharia, a conservative television commentator, began work on Monday.
Earlier on Friday, Trump told reporters outside the White House that he had encouraged her to reconsider staying. He was leaving for a trip to Georgia.
“Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,” Trump recalled telling her. He argued that the media had treated her unfairly and questioned whether the role suited her. When asked during those remarks whether he had fired her, Trump denied it.
Questions about Zacharia’s qualifications focused on her describing herself as a lawyer and an attorney. Trump had introduced her as an attorney when announcing her appointment.
During a Thursday interview on Fox News’s “Hannity”, she acknowledged that she failed the California bar exam in 2011 after graduating from Pepperdine University’s law school. She never retook it.
Zacharia explained that she had already registered for the exam when she learned she would be moving to China. She took it to avoid a withdrawal on her record, even though she considered the result irrelevant to her plans.
In defending her use of the title lawyer, she cited her law degree and experience at a Chinese law firm. She maintained that she had consulted lawyers and other legal professionals before describing herself that way during media appearances.
She distinguished those appearances from paid legal advice, describing her commentary as a general review of legal circumstances.
Read More: US Watchdog Seeks Inquiry Into Katie Zacharia’s Lawyer Claims
Hannity challenged her over social media posts identifying her as an attorney. She described them as reposts and maintained that she had corrected the record.
Zacharia succeeded Karoline Leavitt. She received a call about the position on October 7 and an offer two days later.
The White House had praised her first briefing in a statement published on Tuesday. Trump told Fox in a separate interview on Friday that he was in no hurry to name another press secretary.
(With additional input from Forbes and Fox News)
