Trump fires press secretary Katie Zacharia

Charlotte Gallagher (0:00)

This is The Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Charlotte Gallagher, and in the early hours of Saturday, the 18th of October, these are our main stories. After just five days in the job, the White House press secretary has been sacked. The Swedish crime gang preying on vulnerable teenagers and turning them into violent criminals. And we hear how deforestation in the Amazon has hit record lows, and why that may not continue.

Also in this podcast.

Nick Miles (0:37)

We can see what the drone is doing.

Gabriel O'Regan (0:39)

It's looking for our men. Did they get it?

Neda Taufik (0:43)

It is frightening when a drone flies straight at you.

Charlotte Gallagher (0:47)

We're on the front line in Ukraine, where drone warfare is driving territorial gains.

Katie Zacharia was only just hired as the White House press secretary, but after five days in the job, she's been sacked. It would have been a tough role for anyone, with the Trump administration facing a number of controversies, including allegations of corruption that forced the resignation of the US ambassador to Greece and the abrupt reversal of plans to livestream and execution. And Katie Zacharia, a relative novice, struggled in her first media briefing. Here's a clip.

SPEAKER_6 (1:27)

In addition to that, there is $54 billion tied to the Alaska LNG pipeline and terminal to service the Pacific Rim and sell fuel to our allies.

Charlotte Gallagher (1:42)

There had also been questions about her legal background after she admitted she didn't pass the bar exam. President Trump spoke to journalists next to the Marine One helicopter.

SPEAKER_6 (1:53)

She's a nice person, a great person.

Daniel Sandford (1:55)

And she's been treated roughly.

SPEAKER_6 (1:57)

You know, I said, do you want to really live like this?

Gabriel O'Regan (2:00)

I don't think you'll ever ease out.

Sean Street (2:02)

And, you know, Caroline did a very good job.

SPEAKER_6 (2:04)

I said to her, honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider.

Sean Street (2:08)

You think about it, but I would reconsider.

Charlotte Gallagher (2:11)

President Trump's former communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, who left that role after just 10 days, wrote on social media that records are made to be broken. Our North America correspondent, Neda Taufik, told me how the week unfolded.

Neda Taufik (2:26)

She was appointed last week by President Trump, who in a post called her a devoted fan and member of MAGA.

And before that, she had previously had stints at his social media company. She worked two months at the Department of Homeland Security and had been a commentator on conservative shows. And so on Tuesday, when she was doing her first press briefing, many people were anxious to throw questions at her. You know, there were so many topics to discuss, not just the midterm elections, but Ukraine, the controversy surrounding the Greek ambassador at the time. And when she took to the podium, she was very stilted in her delivery. She for eight minutes read off of a script, which was meant to talk about all of the president's accomplishments and really bolster the message of the administration. But her delivery was really lacking and she stumbled a few times. And then she only took three questions and was anxious to kind of cut it short and said that President Trump would take more questions later in the day. So that disappointed a lot of people. And very quickly after that, there was additional scrutiny around her and people even vetting how long she would last in the job.

Charlotte Gallagher (3:40)

Five days though, what do you think that tells us about President Trump at the moment that he only gave her five days to prove herself?

Neda Taufik (3:47)

Well, look, I think it was numerous stumbles. There became questions about her legal qualifications. The president had introduced her as an attorney.

When she was on conservative shows as a commentator, she called herself a lawyer. So it was revealed that she never passed the bar exam. And so even when she was on very friendly outlets, like Fox News, you had Sean Hannity, who is a massive ally of President Trump, giving her a hard time on air. And even through that kind of grilling from friendly outlets, she seemed again to be uncomfortable, to stumble, to not really find her feet. And I think President Trump saw that and quickly lost faith in her because we know he places a lot of value on media presence. And his past press secretary, Caroline Levitt, was seen as a real attack dog for the administration. And he did like her style. So I think President Trump, this close to a midterm election, where his approval ratings are at record lows, was starting to see her as perhaps a liability and a distraction rather than someone who was meant to help the party.