Former Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt can give Katie Zacharia grace for stepping onto the White House podium — even for a short while.
“Look, it’s a tough job. It’s a very tough job,” Leavitt, 29, said on the Friday, October 23, episode of Real Time With Bill Maher. “People say it’s one of the hardest jobs in Washington, [D.C.], and … I give anyone who steps up to that podium credit, because only 37 people in United States history have been the White House press secretary. That pressure in that room is enormous.”
She continued, “I give her credit for standing up there, and as the president said, it wasn’t a good fit and that’s OK. I wish her well, and we’re onto the next.”
Leavitt, who left the press secretary role in August to spend more time with her family, noted that President Donald Trump has “a lot of options” for Zacharia’s replacement.
“I mean, it’s a great job. It’s a fun job,” Leavitt noted. “There’s a lot of qualified people who want it, so we’ll see.”
News broke on October 16 that Zacharia, 41, was let go from her White House duties after just one week on the job.
“President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic and the most hardworking man,” Zacharia wrote via Instagram at the time, confirming her departure. “I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to. It was an honor to work for him.”
Trump, 80, later told reporters that he hopes Zacharia has “a good life” after her brief D.C. stint.
Zacharia took the podium for the first time on October 13, fielding questions from three media outlets for a total of 14 minutes. Her résumé was subsequently put into question after multiple news sites claimed they couldn’t find a valid law license under her name. (Zacharia graduated from the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and alleged she passed the bar upon her move to China.)
The White House never publicly addressed the speculation but defended Zacharia’s position as press secretary.
“Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung told CNN in a statement earlier this month. “She is uniquely qualified and whip-smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as press secretary.”
