Trump raises doubts about the future of the new press secretary after a difficult first time in the White House

Katie Zacharia was fired as White House press secretary.

New White House press secretary Cathy Zacharias was pressed by host Lawrence Jones on whether she regrets not telling President Trump about failing the bar exam.

President Donald Trump has told Cathy Zacharia to "reconsider" her role as White House press secretary, just a week after appointing her to the top job.

Speaking to members of the press on the South Lawn on Friday, the president revealed that he told Zakaria: "If you don't want to, you don't have to do it... I think you should reconsider."

"Maybe not for him," Trump admitted.

His four-day term has been marked by scrutiny of his legal credentials and his difficult first appearance before the White House press corps on Tuesday. Critics have targeted Zakharia for his recent interviews as he tries to recover from a bumpy start.

When pressed on whether Trump's update meant Zakaria would be fired, the president responded with, “No, no. I want him to have a good life."

He added: "He has been abused by the media."

During an appearance on "Hannity" Thursday night, Zacharias was pressed on whether he could pass himself off as an attorney, in which Zacharias admitted that he failed the exam and was never licensed to practice law in the United States.

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Zakaria was introduced for this role on October 9 and a few days later he went to the White House podium for his first press conference. On October 13

"I had already registered for the bar exam and I basically knew in the summer that I would be living in China and the result of the bar would be irrelevant. I took it because I didn't want to be in a withdrawal situation," he said.

White House reporters are widely praising Carolyn Leavitt as she announces her departure from the Trump administration.

White House Press Secretary Katie Zakaria on Tuesday, Oct. 11, in the James S. Brady speaks to the media at the White House. 13, 2026 in Washington DC was Zakaria's first briefing. (Samuel Korum / Pool / FTWP)

Zakaria was also pressed during his 14-minute briefing in which he asked only three questions.

"What I feel like is that I really got ready with very little time to prepare," Zakaria said. "Considering the fact that I was at work for less than eight hours and had a brief book in the morning, I feel like I did my best, Sean, to present to the American people that day."

Zakaria's debut was scrutinized for several verbal clashes, including the moment she mistakenly referred to her husband as "my president" before correcting herself, as well as the brevity of the briefing, during which she questioned three journalists in just 14 minutes.

Carolyn Leavitt's first White House press briefing lasted approximately 47 minutes, while Sean Spicer's first speech lasted approximately 79 minutes. While Sarah Huckabee Sanders' first press briefing in 2017 lasted about 23 minutes.

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A White House official told MS NOW that he may end up with a shorter tenure than Anthony Scaramucci, whose brief stint as President Donald Trump's White House communications director lasted just 10 days before he was fired in July 2017.

"It's hard to be behind the podium, but he got off on the wrong foot," the anonymous White House official said, according to MS NOW. He has to get better and faster or he will break Scaramucci's record.

The White House X @PressSec account, previously run by Leavitt before moving to the White House press office, was never switched to Zacharia. This account has not posted since October 7th.

Zakaria, whom Trump named as an attorney when he announced his appointment, previously served as senior communications adviser for the Trump Media and Technology Group, which runs the president's social media platform, Truth Social.

Zakaria previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.

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