President Donald Trump made two pieces of White House personnel news on Friday, opening the door to new press secretary Katie Zacharia’s departure and throwing his support behind chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Zacharia has been lambasted for the rocky start to her tenure, which began on Monday, following an awkward opening press briefing and revelations about her legal qualifications.
Trump, however, suggested that he is open to replacing his fledgling press secretary on Friday afternoon.
“I said to Katie: you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he told reporters before departing the White House for a campaign event in Georgia.
“I said, ‘Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this.’ So we’re talking about doing something,” the president continued. “I want her to have a good life. I don’t want her to have a life like she’s led in the last three days.”
Trump ultimately said that he would “let her make that decision,” but would talk to her when he returns to Washington over the weekend.
As for Wiles, whom Trump has reportedly been exploring replacing, the president said that there’s “zero chance” she’d be leaving her post.
FOR KATIE ZACHARIA, IT’S ONLY UP FROM HERE
The president called reports on his alleged search for a replacement a “fake story.”
“She’s been incredible. We’ve had maybe the most successful first two years, and it’s not even two years in the history of the presidency,” he continued. “She’s been my chief of staff. She’s smart. She’s tough. She just went through a lot with the cancer surgery and the whole thing, and she recovered fully. Recovered. She’s phenomenal.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
