WATCH: Ex-Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who served for nearly two years, breaks silence on Katie Zacharia’s historic 5-day White House exit

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has reacted to the departure of her successor, Katie Zacharia, after just five days of assuming the charge. She became the shortest-serving White House press secretary in U.S. history. Calling the job of White House press secretary “tough,” Leavitt said that the role requires a lot of preparation, and it's tough to predict how things will hold out when someone actually takes over the responsibility.

Speaking to FOX News Digital, she said, "The White House press secretary is a tough job. I know that because I did it, obviously for almost two years, and many people say it's one of the hardest jobs in politics," Leavitt emphasized.

Leavitt also said that the job "takes a lot of preparation, and sometimes you don't know how someone will perform until they go out there." "We wish Katie the best. The job obviously was not for her, but we wish her and her family well," she added.

Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt

Katie Zacharia, a political commentator, replaced Leavitt, who served as Trump's press secretary from the start of the president's second term until August 27, 2026. She was the youngest-ever White House press secretary. She stepped down from her duties to spend time with her two young children.

Leavitt served for approximately 19 months, starting from January 20, 2025, to August 27, 2026. According to the White House, “Leavitt truly set a new standard for the White House press secretary. She fought for the facts, defended the America First agenda, and never, ever surrendered.”

Zacharia, her successor, took over on October 12, 2026, and left on October 16, 2026. She came under fire over her professional qualifications after reports surfaced claiming that she never passed the bar exam.

The press briefing chaos

In her first and only press briefing a day after she took the charge, Zacharia fumbled her words and apparently looked all over the place. The briefing had ended in just 14 minutes. According to news agency AP, she took questions from just three reporters.

In her defense, Zacharia said that she wanted to keep her briefing short to ensure Trump had enough time later that morning for his own question-and-answer session with reporters, the news agency reported. She also claimed that she had not been fully briefed by White House staff beforehand.

Zacharia is a Pepperdine University law graduate. She was also criticized for calling herself a lawyer when she made an appearance as a commentator on conservative television outlets. She said the term was a proper one to use when she was offering legal analysis and said she had worked as a lawyer in China.


Trump on Zacharia’s exit


While speaking to reporters, Trump said that he had told Zacharia that she might want to change her mind about the job. He further stated that he thought she had been treated unfairly by the press.

“I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy,’” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn as he left for a rally in Georgia. “I said, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.’ I said, ‘You think about it, but I would reconsider.’”