I want ousted White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia to know I’m profoundly grateful for her five days of service to our nation and, like so many Americans, I grieve the lies she left untold.
President Donald Trump announced Zacharia’s role in his administration Oct. 9, writing in a social media post: “She has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning. She is, likewise, a devoted fan and member of MAGA! I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next White House Press Secretary.”
She started Oct. 12, held a patriotically stammering press briefing the next day, and was well on her way to completing a full sentence on Oct. 16 when President Trump
changed his tone and told reporters: “Look, she has suffered over the last few days. Maybe it's not for her.”
Trump loved Katie Zacharia for five days, then not so much
I assume Trump had a 24-hour case of the woke mind virus. How could he go from promising Zacharia would “deliver strong results for our Country” to describing this conversation with her: “I said, 'Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider.’”
You only gave her five days, Mr. President! What kind of anti-DEI, non-woke Republican lets a perfectly unqualified White woman go after five days simply because she seems wholly incapable of doing the job and has been pretending to be a lawyer?!?
How do you fire a press secretary simply because she can't seem to speak?
Was Zacharia’s first press conference a disaster during which she only took three questions and appeared to struggle with the “spokes” part of being a “spokesperson”? Yes.
Has she spent years calling herself a lawyer when she in fact never passed the bar exam after graduating from law school? Also yes.
Zacharia's devotion to Trump and MAGA rivaled her ability to lie
But Zacharia’s love for President Trump was never in doubt, nor was her willingness to tell absurd lies in support of his administration.
Look at this magnificent dissembling about Trump’s midterm election rallies that she spouted haltingly during her first and only press briefing: “He is an energetic president. Attendance is at record highs as enthusiastic, hardworking Americans are lining up and packing arenas to support President Trump and Republicans. It's not hard to see why. President Trump is fighting and delivering for American workers every minute of every day.”
That is pro-caliber propaganda, and it gives us a glimpse of what we’ve lost with Zacharia’s firing.
Americans should all mourn the firing of Zacharia, a great public servant
Was she good at talking? Not particularly. Did she have the vague look of someone who finally got the chance to be close to the leader of her cult? Definitely.
But what matters is she absolutely couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth, and that’s what President Trump and America need now more than ever. Who knows what kind of straw lies she could have spun into gold. We’re left imagining the ways we might’ve been told everything is amazing, despite all evidence to the contrary.
What Zacharia lacked in press secretary credentials she clearly made up for in complete devotion to nonsense. But sadly, somehow, the woke got her.
Let us all remember the glorious five days of Katie Zacharia. And let us keep in our hearts the endless lies that could have been.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zacharia? We hardly knew ya. I grieve the lies left untold | Opinion
