Inside Katie Zacharia’s whirlwind five days of the second most stressful job in Washington
The Trump White House has gained a reputation for being a magnet for high staff turnover, questions about qualifications, and glamorous blondes in designer dresses.
And Katie Zacharia delivered in spades.
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia lasted five days in the role. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Two weeks before the midterm elections, the Trump administration was hoping a new press secretary would get 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue back into order and give some renewed focus.
Instead, Zacharia’s first morning in office was such a disaster that the press corps started anticipating her dismissal immediately.
The pundits weren't alone. While White House staffers put on a brave face to the media but were trashing her anonymously to the press.
Steven Cheung, the most aggressive of the White House spokespeople, lashed out at criticism of Zacharia.
"Up and down the White House, everyone has been thoroughly impressed with Katie in just a few short days on the job," Cheung said.
“At the end of this second term, she’ll be remembered as one of the all-time greats.”
As it turns out, she lost her job so quickly she didn't even have time to move to Washington.
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
She was an unexpected hire from Trump, who reportedly gave her the job without consulting White House chief-of-staff Susie Wiles.
Zacharia's resume was thin, and she was not among the shortlisted candidates put together by pundits.
But she did have the president's eye for a specific reason - her TV credentials.
For the past two years she has been a commentator on Fox News and Newsmax, where she has been a vociferous defender of Trump.
But it turns out singing the praises of Trump on conservative TV stations is much easier than fronting the press corps.
In her 14 minutes at the lectern on Tuesday, she was visibly nervous, struggled to read the pre-written statements, and answered just three questions from friendly outlets.
Press secretaries are hired because they like answering tough questions, in the same way an opening batter likes the fast balls.
But Zacharia did not look like she was having fun.
And her mistruths about being an attorney were not well-received.
For years she has been presented as an attorney on TV, even though she failed the bar exam.
Passing the bar exam is immensely difficult, which the countless lawyers working in Washington all know.
President Donald Trump said new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia should reconsider her position. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
But Zacharia was given a chance to explain herself on Thursday in a series of interviews on conservative-leaning outlets.
The most important was an appearance on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News.
Politico reported the interview was set up by Wiles as a "sanctioned hit" on Zacharia.
And she began the interview with a series of excuses about her disastrous briefing, in a way that didn't make the White House look good.
"I was given the offer last Wednesday. I flew out to DC on Thursday, I had a meeting on Friday, was offered the job, flew home to California on Saturday, flew back to Washington on Sunday, was asked to start on Monday," Zacharia said.
“They said I only took questions from conservative outlets, however The Daily Mail is not known to be a conservative outlet or friendly to conservatives.”
The Daily Mail is very much known as a conservative outlet, having endorsed the Conservative Party in every UK election since 1945.
If her Hannity appearance was a chance at salvaging her job, it had the opposite effect.
Zacharia was Trump's sixth press secretary, a record number.
While press secretaries rarely hold onto the job for long, their tenures under Trump have been unusually brief.
Sean Spicer, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany were in the job for less than a year.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Karoline Leavitt both left after less than two years.
Trump has said he is not planning on replacing Zacharia in a hurry.
If she was making as much as her predecessor, she would have been on a salary of about $A280,000 a year.
Or about $5400 a week, which is the more meaningful number in this case.
The president himself takes questions from reporters most days.
It is now known whether Zacharia will remain in Washington or return to California, where she still technically lives.
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