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Karoline Leavitt speaks out on successor Katie Zacharia’s shocking 5-day tenure as press secretary

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Cite

Keane, I. (2026, October 24). Karoline Leavitt speaks out on successor Katie Zacharia’s shocking 5-day tenure as press secretary. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/karoline-leavitt-katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary-b3072696.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-24 · by Isabel Keane

Quick Summary

Karoline Leavitt, former White House Press Secretary, discussed her successor Katie Zacharia’s brief five-day tenure in the position with Fox News Digital on Thursday. Leavitt noted that the job was “not for” Zacharia and commented on the difficulty of the role, emphasizing the need for a press secretary to be tough, smart, loyal, and prepared. Zacharia took over as press secretary on October 12 but faced criticism during her first briefing on October 13, which lasted only 14 minutes, before being fired within five days.
Written by AI on 2026-10-24, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Katie Zacharia's five-day tenure in her role on October 22, 2026. During an interview with Fox News Digital, Leavitt said, "The job obviously was not for her." Zacharia's briefing lasted only 14 minutes, taking questions from just three reporters before stepping down. Leavitt, who served as press secretary during President Trump’s second term and left in August after the birth of her second child, noted that the position is challenging and requires extensive preparation. She outlined five key qualities for a successful press secretary: toughness, intelligence, loyalty, understanding of Trump's policies, and the ability to engage effectively with the media. Leavitt also expressed support for Zacharia but emphasized President Trump’s ongoing search for her replacement.

Written for “Karoline Leavitt Critiques Katie Zacharia” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Karoline Leavitt Critiques Katie Zacharia
Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Times of India
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 59/100
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 16 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss Katie Zacharia's brief tenure as White House press secretary, they describe different aspects and outcomes from distinct interviews.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Katie Zacharia's brief tenure as press secretary and her reaction to criticism from Trump, rather than describing a single specific incident occurring at the same time and place.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 7 of 130 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses Karoline Leavitt's comments on Katie Zacharia's brief tenure as press secretary, while Article B focuses on Fox News' relationship with Donald Trump and Sean Hannity's critical questioning of Katie Zacharia.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 35 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles refer to different interviews (one with Bill Maher and one with Fox News Digital) where Karoline Leavitt comments on Katie Zacharia's short tenure as press secretary.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 39 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss related events but different incidents: Article A focuses on Leavitt's reaction to Zacharia's brief tenure, while Article B covers Zacharia's concerns for her family's safety after leaving the role.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different aspects of Katie Zacharia’s tenure as White House press secretary: Article A focuses on Karoline Leavitt's comments about Zacharia, while Article B discusses Zacharia's own defense and response after her dismissal.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3414 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Isabel Keane
80 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 President Donald Trump was briefed by top military officials on options for Iran, as administration officials gave Arab Gulf states a heads-up that attacks would resume after the midterm elections, according to a report.
🔮 While Trump was supposed to appear at a rally in Kansas on Saturday, he canceled that appearance and will instead participate in a series of virtual rallies.
🔮 The former president’s speechwriter, Jon Favreau, joked in response: “Would anyone else on the right like to keep this going for another few days or no?”
🔮 Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee suggested that convicted murderer Christa Pike’s death sentence will likely remain the same unless challenged by the courts — one month after her failed execution.
🔮 Fox News’ viewership is set to hit historic lows ahead of the midterms, suggesting that conservatives may be tuning out ahead of the high-stakes elections — despite the GOP’s best efforts.
🔮 Baptist said in the suit that had he known he was not getting as much shrimp as was advertised, he wouldn’t have bought it.
🔮 Enten, who is CNN’s chief data analyst, noted that the number of House seats predicted to be won by Democrats had increased from 232 in August to 238 in October.
🔮 While posing as the teen, the suspect told investigators that they were worried they may get mistaken for Makayla Craig, who is a registered sex offender out of Oregon.
🔮 He estimated that repairs would likely cost between $30,000 and $50,000.
🔮 According to the report, police concluded their investigation into the incident that same day, saying they had no kitchen photos or video and could not establish probable cause.
Also by Isabel Keane
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 80 articles by Isabel Keane →

Topics

Fox News Digital Homeland Security Independent Newsmax White House

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Zacharia PERSON · 6× White House ORG · 4× Leavitt PERSON · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× Karoline Leavitt PERSON · 2× Fox News Digital ORG · 1× Independent NORP · 1× Katie PERSON · 1× Katie Zacharia PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt weighed in on her successor Katie Zacharia’s five-day stint in the role, noting the job “obviously was not for her.” “Look, White House press secretary is a tough job.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-24
🔮 Sometimes you don’t know how someone will perform until they go out there,” she said.

Claims (25 extracted, 3 hedged)

Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt weighed in on her successor Katie Zacharia’s five-day stint in the role, noting the job “obviously was not for her.” “Look, White House press secretary is a tough job. asserted
secretary → weigh → her
I know that because I did it,” Leavitt said in a Thursday interview with Fox News Digital. asserted
Leavitt → know → Digital
“Many people say it’s one of the hardest jobs in politics. asserted
it → say → politics
It takes a lot of preparation. asserted
It → take → preparation
Sometimes you don’t know how someone will perform until they go out there,” she said. asserted
she → know → ?
“As the president said, we wish Katie the best. asserted
we → say → best
Leavitt, who left the role in August after giving birth to her second child, said that she has been trying to help President Donald Trump in his search for Zacharia’s replacement. asserted
she → leave → replacement
“I do obviously talk to him about what the job entails, and he knows it very well. asserted
he → talk → it
Nobody understands the press better than Donald Trump. asserted
Nobody → understand → Trump
He knows that he needs someone who is tough, who is smart, who understands his policies, who is loyal and can go out there and put up a fight,” she said. asserted
she → know → fight
Zacharia, a former Homeland Security spokesperson and Newsmax contributor, took over as press secretary on October 12. asserted
Zacharia → take → October
Leavitt, who was Trump’s press secretary for the start of his second term, starting in January 2025, stepped back in August to spend more time with her young children. asserted
who → start → children
Upon announcing Zacharia’s appointment, Trump hailed her as a “loyal and brilliant supporter.” asserted
Trump → announce → supporter
Despite the hype, Zacharia fell short during her first briefing October 13, which lasted a measly 14 minutes. asserted
which → fall → briefing
During that time, she awkwardly read from prepared remarks, accidentally referred to her husband as “my president” and took questions from only three journalists. asserted
she → read → journalists
The lackluster performance drew backlash from Trump critics and administration officials. asserted
performance → draw → critics
Within five days, she had been fired. asserted
she → fire → days
Her vacancy comes with midterm elections less than two weeks away — and as polls suggest Republicans may face major losses. uncertain
Republicans → come → losses
“President Trump and his team are focused on the midterm elections,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told The Independent earlier this week. asserted
Cheung → focus → Independent
“The President is the best messenger and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party and he will continue crisscrossing the country to share his commonsense, America First agenda directly with the American people.” asserted
he → continue → people
Several names have been floating around — and betted on — for Zacharia’s replacement. asserted
names → float → replacement
The two top candidates seem to be Anna Kelly, the current White House principal deputy press secretary, CNN’s MAGA pundit Scott Jennings and Elizabeth Pipko, a former model who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign. asserted
who → seem → campaign
Kelly is currently the frontrunner to succeed Zacharia, according to Kalshi bettors. uncertain
Kelly → succeed → bettors
The former beauty queen has a 15 percent chance of getting the role, while Jennings has a 13 percent. asserted
Jennings → have → percent
He was widely considered to be favorite for the role when Trump sought to replace then-outgoing Secretary Karoline Leavitt and reportedly privately campaigned for the position. uncertain
Trump → consider → position
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