Katie Zakaria leaves White House post after just five days: Trump is a wonderful man, it was an honor to work with him

Just hours after being dismissed as White House press secretary, Katie Zakaria released her first message, choosing to express her appreciation for Donald Trump even though the US president had removed her after just five days.

In a social media post, Zakaria described Trump as “a wonderful, generous and hardworking man” and said she considered it a privilege to work alongside him.

“President Trump is a kind, wonderful, generous, loving, enthusiastic and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America as great as he has and continues to do. It was an honor to work for him,” she wrote, without commenting on her sudden departure.

The message was published several hours after the end of an extremely short tenure, marked by strong criticism of her performance in the White House briefing room and questions about her professional qualifications.

Zachariah was selected by Trump on October 9 to replace Caroline Levitt and officially took office on October 12. The following day, her first news conference lasted just 14 minutes and drew criticism over the way she answered questions.

Further criticism followed revelations that, although she had been introduced as a lawyer, she was not licensed to practice law. Zakaria had not passed the California bar exam and admitted that she had not attempted to take it again.

On Friday, October 16, Trump publicly signaled that her future in the role was uncertain, saying the media had treated her particularly harshly.

“I told her that if I were in her position, I would reconsider,” the US president said, adding that he did not want her to face the intense pressure that comes with the job.

Shortly afterward, it was officially announced that Zakaria was leaving the post, setting the record for the shortest tenure of any press secretary in White House history.