Katie Zacharia only made her first appearance in front of the world’s media on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump with White House press secretary Katie Zacharia earlier this week (Image: Gripas Yuri/ABACA/Shutterstock)
Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is leaving her role just five days after starting the job. It comes after scrutiny over her claim to be a lawyer and a shaky first press conference. Zacharia is alleged to be “transitioning out” of her role as White House press secretary, the White House told the BBC. Donald Trump said earlier today he told Zacharia to “reconsider” the job. Speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One en route to Joint Base Andrews, the president relayed a conversation he had with his new press secretary.
The 80-year-old said he told Zacharia that she is “better off being happy” after facing a wave of public scrutiny. “I told her ‘I think you’re better off being happy, and I’m not sure you can ever be happy in this stuff.’
“There’s nothing easy about this stuff,” Trump told reporters. He added: “I said to her honestly, ‘If I were you, I’d reconsider… think about it. But I would reconsider.'”
The US president also said the 42-year-old has been treated “very, very badly” by the media in recent days after a shaky 14-minute press conference on Tuesday that saw her take just three questions from the press.
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She spent more than half that time reading pre-prepared remarks. The president then admitted that “maybe the role is not for her”.
Katie Zacharia has left her role as White House press secretary (Image: Getty)
After meeting Zacharia’s family yesterday, who Trump described as being “from a picture postcard”, the 80-year-old leader told the White House press secretary that “she should reconsider”.
When asked what he wants for her, Trump replied that he wishes her happiness. During an appearance on Fox News network earlier on Friday morning, Zacharia was questioned whether she still has the confidence of the US president. “I’m standing here,” she replied.
Questions also arose over her legal credentials, after Zacharia claimed to be a practising lawyer but later admitted she failed the bar exam the only time she took it in the US.
She is no stranger to the White House, having interned during the George Bush administration, which ran from 2001 to 2009. Zacharia also briefly served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.
The conservative activist and commentator filled a prolonged vacancy left by Karoline Leavitt, one of Trump’s most trusted aides, who stepped down in August to spend more time with her family.
Children of RNLI volunteers bullied over charity’s migrant rescues in English Channel
RNLI crews have faced years of abuse for the charity’s role in rescuing migrants crossing the Channel.
Migrants wait to disembark from RNLI vessel in Ramsgate (Image: Getty)
Children of volunteers for the RNLI have reportedly been bullied at school over the charity’s work in the English Channel. The RNLI responds to small boats that are generally in distress and require specialist rescue skills.
The leader of a lifeboat crew in Portsmouth said the children of two crew members had been bullied by their peers over their fathers’ volunteer work. The volunteers have also been confronted while shopping and socialising in public, according to a report by the Times.
RNLI crews have faced years of abuse for the charity’s role in rescuing migrants crossing the Channel.
In one instance, a lifeboat crew was trapped inside its boathouse for two hours during a protest at Eastney harbour. Volunteers from other RNLI stations were tasked with ensuring the safety of anti-migrant protesters who entered the sea during the protest.
Images of the crews’ faces were shared online, alongside calls to identify them. One widely shared post on X urged people to “get their family”.
Callouts for small boats in distress while crossing the Channel constitute only 1.7 per cent of the charity’s total, however. In 2025, 41,472 people crossed the Channel, but only 2,353, or 5.7 per cent, were rescued by the RNLI.
Police stand outside the RNLI station in Poole (Image: Getty)
According to the Times report, Peter Sparkes, the charity’s chief executive, said there had been “deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding” about RNLI tasking and how it responded in the Channel.
“Sadly, as a result, some of our volunteers and staff have been the subject of online and, in the worst cases, physical abuse,” he said.
“The RNLI’s people represent the very best in our society, they selflessly give up their time to keep others safe.
“Yet they and their families are being threatened by those who would hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard.
“Their action, in contrast, is wholly unacceptable in a civilised society.”