Only 5 days into her position, Katie Zackaria was forced to step down, becoming the White House’s “shortest-lived press secretary” in history. Foreign media reported that Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff, played a key role behind this sudden departure.
On October 16th, local time, the British newspaper The Daily Mail reported, citing several sources familiar with the matter, that Wells issued a 'kill order' to Fox News, deliberately creating difficult interviews with Zakaria in order to prove that she was not competent for the position.
On Thursday evening (the 15th), Zakaria faced harsh questioning from Fox News host Sean Hannity. The next morning, during the show 'Fox & Friends', he was confronted by host Lawrence Jones about the issue of his lawyer's falsified resume.
According to reports, as doubts about Zacarias’ qualifications grew among the outside world, this new press secretary’s appearance on Fox News, which usually favors conservatives, was intended to respond to criticism and calm the situation. However, during the live broadcast on Thursday evening, Zacarias appeared clearly overwhelmed by Henni’s repeated questions.
Hannity told her face-to-face that her performance at the first press conference was poor and she received widespread criticism. He also continued to question her legal qualifications, and Zachary tried hard to defend himself. People close to Zachary said that she felt particularly hurt by the interaction with Hannity, as she had always seen Hannity as an ally.
The next morning, she returned to Fox Television, but the conversation was still unfriendly. As soon as Jones spoke, he asked, "Do you regret not telling the President that you didn’t pass the bar exam?"
According to sources, both interviews that prevented Zakaria from being disqualified were orchestrated by Wells.
A high-level government official stated to "The Daily Mail": "Suzy gave Fox News a 'killing order'. However, Zakaria was obviously a bad choice and that was entirely expected."
Another official also said, “There was a trap set up by someone in the White House during that interview. This could only be a decision made by Susie or the president himself. No one else could have made that call to Hannity.” He added, “By doing this, Hannity is sending a message: if she cannot even tolerate a slightly more tough attitude from Fox News, then she certainly cannot withstand CNN’s approach.”
However, people within Fox News denied these claims, stating that it was her poor interview performance that hastened her departure.
CNN quoted sources as saying that the process of selecting Zacaria was rushed. She wasn’t even among the main candidates at first, and her sudden favor came from Trump’s whims – he wanted to appoint someone loyal who would often defend him on television.
It was less than three weeks before the midterm elections. The Republican Party's situation worsened, and Trump faced criticism due to his party's difficulties. He began complaining that no one was conveying political messages to him. The position of White House spokesperson, which wasn't considered urgent to fill at first, suddenly became important.
The White House had been looking for candidates for several weeks, with advisors and allies suggesting several more well-known individuals. However, after narrowing the list several times, the team decided to eliminate candidates who had criticized Trump in the past. It was then that Zachary, who often publicly defended Trump, came into view.
According to the US newspaper The Washington Post, on October 8th, Trump personally selected Zakaria for this position, without consulting any of his senior aides, including Wells. According to four people familiar with the matter, when Trump announced this decision inside the White House that evening, Wells and other White House officials were surprised.
A source told the Daily Mail bluntly: “Susi wants someone who is loyal to her, while Trump chose someone who is loyal to him.”
This also raises questions about Wales’s power in the West Wing of the White House. It makes one wonder about the chaotic situation during Trump’s first term, where there were many factions and constant internal conflicts.
An anonymous government source told the Daily Mail that Trump’s choice of Zachary is seen as a “direct rejection” of Wells: “This is considered one of Donald’s many ‘minor offenses’ towards Susie in recent times. He is taking control back, and it feels more and more like his first term.”
