White House: US circles: Trump's spokeswoman Zacharias resigns

Washington. US President Donald Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, who has just taken office, is resigning from her position, according to US circles. A senior government official confirmed to the German Press Agency that she would be leaving the post, without giving further details about the timing. Zacharia only started the job on Monday. It was initially unclear who would succeed her.

Trump himself had recently told reporters that he had suggested that Zacharias consider resigning. "I said to her, 'Honestly, if I were you, I would reconsider. Think about it, but I would reconsider,'" he told reporters outside the White House. He wanted to leave it up to her whether Zacharia remained in office. However, several US media outlets reported that he had fired her.

The US President had expressed doubts to the press as to whether she was suitable for the task. “Maybe this isn’t for them,” he admitted. Zachariah was treated very badly and unfairly by the media. He just wanted her to be happy and she had suffered a lot in the past few days. He will support her decision and wants to speak to her again soon.

CBS News, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that Zacharias spent the week "unusually isolated" and did not serve as press secretary. The news portal “Politico” wrote that Trump had made critical comments about Zacharia to third parties. The president said through his spokeswoman that she has no talent and doesn't belong on television. A person close to Trump told US broadcaster CNN that Trump did not think Zachariah was suitable for the job. At the same time, he valued her as a person, it was said.

Zacharia succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who left office at the end of August. Trump only made the details public on Sunday. She started the job on Monday, which was the Columbus Day holiday in the United States. She gave her first press conference on Monday. What I remember most about her first appearance in front of the press were slips of the tongue and an unusually quick end after just a few questions.

When making the announcement, Trump was full of praise for Zacharias: "I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our country as the new White House Press Secretary," he wrote.

The personnel decision apparently came as a surprise, as Zacharia herself described in an interview with the right-wing conservative broadcaster Real America's Voice: Trump called her, and she flew out on Thursday to meet him on Friday. She said she accepted the job offer that same day. On Saturday she then flew back to California to pack her bags and fly back to the US capital on Sunday. “He asked me to be in the office on Monday and I showed up on Monday,” she said.

Her professional qualifications had sparked a debate and put her under massive pressure. The focus was on Zacharia repeatedly describing herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media.

The graduate of a US law school failed the California bar exam in 2011. Zacharia had explained that she had been told she could still call herself “lawyer,” but not “attorney.” While “attorney” definitely requires a license to practice law, “lawyer” is also sometimes used in US parlance for law graduates, but can also be legally problematic under certain circumstances. Trump himself introduced her as “attorney” when she was appointed.

Before her job as White House press secretary, according to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as a communications consultant for the Trump Media & Technology Group, which also includes the Truth Social platform. She previously served briefly as deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She also appeared as a commentator on Trump's house channel Fox News and the ultra-conservative US channel Newsmax.