President Donald Trump blindsided his inner circle with a staffing shake-up that left the White House scrambling.
The decision came less than two months after Karoline Leavitt announced her resignation as White House press secretary in August.
Leavitt served less than two years in the role.
She stepped away to spend more time with her husband, Nicholas Riccio, and their two children, son Niko and daughter Vivian.
In the interim, Cabinet members such as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio took her place. The administration later largely stopped holding press conferences.
Instead, Trump answered a handful of reporters’ questions during major announcements.
That changed on Oct. 9, when he announced that Katie Zacharia would take over spokesperson duties. It marks a step up from her previous role as senior communications adviser for the president’s Truth Social platform.
“She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning,” Trump gushed in a post.
He told the media on Oct. 11, “I’ve watched Katie, who is taking the place of Karoline, who you know how fabulous Karoline was.”
Moreover, he boasted, “Karoline’s gonna have some very big success I believe. I know ‘cause she she’s very outstanding. I think Katie’s gonna do a great job.”
He continued, dropping a bombshell about how long he had been eyeing her.
“I’ve known Katie for a little bit, but I’ve watched her a lot on television, and she does a very good job and she believes in what we’re doing, which is Making America Great Again. She really does,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Leavitt, Trump’s former superstar staffer, has been hired as a Fox News contributor, a role her successor once held.
“The bar was already low after the last press secretary but Katie actually seems like she can hold her own in a briefing,” a critic quipped.
An X user commented, “She’s his type…. Blonde with big boobs, willing to spew lies on command.” Another said, “I can’t believe she’s worse than the last Secretary of depressed a bigger bobblehead with no brains give America a break and give somebody that can actually speak to the Press.”
Leavitt publicly reacted to Zacharia’s appointment the same day Trump revealed her replacement.
She quote-tweeted the White House’s announcement, adding, “Serving as White House Press Secretary is one of the most challenging yet fun jobs on the planet. I have no doubt Katie will do great work for President Trump and our country. As I told the President, Katie has my full support and I will be cheering for her and the entire team at the White House every day.”
However, the story behind the scenes was very different. Leavitt reportedly wasn’t thrilled that Trump had found a new blonde “machine gun” to defend him in the press.
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was reportedly searching for candidates to serve as press secretary when Trump made his selection without consulting her. Leavitt allegedly gave Wiles advance notice about Zacharia.
Staff purportedly had three days to prepare for her arrival before the new hire made headlines.
However, Trump’s inner circle wasn’t unfamiliar with her. Zacharia briefly worked as a media liaison for the Department of Homeland Security.
According to the Daily Mail, former DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Lauren Bis helped push Zacharia out of the agency after former DHS Kristi Noem was ousted.
Bis and Zacharia are now colleagues again, with both working on the White House press team.
The new press secretary stepped to the podium for her first presser on Oct. 13. Leavitt remains a topic of discussion, as some people speculate she may pen a White House tell-all in the future.
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