Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is helping President Trump pick a replacement after Katie Zacharia lasted just five days, saying the job simply was not for her.
In a Fox News Digital exclusive interview from Manchester, N.H., Leavitt said she has offered the president direct counsel as he searches for the next person to stand at the podium. Zacharia took over earlier this month and was gone after five days, a tenure described as the shortest for a White House press secretary in U.S. history.
Leavitt framed the departure without drama and kept the focus on the demands of the role. She left the job herself on Aug. 27 to spend more time with her two young children, including a daughter born in May, and she made plain why she walked away from Washington.
"We wish Katie the best. The job obviously was not for her, but we wish her and her family well," Leavitt said.
"We wish Katie the best. The job obviously was not for her, but we wish her and her family well,"
She did not pile on. She did describe what the next hire must bring.
Leavitt said the president already knows the press better than almost anyone in politics, and she listed the traits he is looking for as he reviews candidates.
"Nobody understands the press better than Donald Trump. He knows he needs someone who is tough, who is smart, who understands his policies, who is loyal, and who can go out there and put up a fight," she said.
"Nobody understands the press better than Donald Trump. He knows he needs someone who is tough, who is smart, who understands his policies, who is loyal, and who can go out there and put up a fight,"
That standard matches the record she built in the job. Leavitt served nearly two years as press secretary from the start of Trump’s second term, after earlier stints as an assistant press secretary at the end of his first term, communications director for Rep. Elise Stefanik, spokeswoman for MAGA Inc., and press secretary for the 2024 campaign.
She also made history as the youngest person ever to hold the White House press secretary post. The briefing room is not a soft landing, and she did not pretend otherwise.
"[White House] press secretary is a tough job. I know that because I did it, obviously for almost two years, and many people say it's one of the hardest jobs in politics," Leavitt said. She added that the role takes heavy preparation, and that performance only becomes clear once someone walks out to face the room.
"[White House] press secretary is a tough job. I know that because I did it, obviously for almost two years, and many people say it's one of the hardest jobs in politics,"
Leavitt said the search is still underway. Plenty of people want the assignment, and she is not treating the opening as a crisis.
"I've offered my help to the president to help him select someone who can serve him and the country well," she said. She also noted that Trump "is continuing to look over options. There's a lot of people who want that job. It's an amazing job. It provides you with incredible opportunities."
She kept private advice private. "I'll keep my private counsel to the president private, but I do obviously talk to him about what the job entails, and he knows it very well," Leavitt said. That hands-on guidance follows the period when jockeying to replace her began as soon as she stepped down.
Zacharia, a political commentator, arrived for a briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Oct. 13, 2026, according to photo captions tied to the coverage. Trump had appeared with Leavitt on Aug. 21, 2026, speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The personnel change moved fast after that window.
Readers tracking the staffing shuffle already saw reporting on how Leavitt helps Trump pick the next voice for the administration after the five-day exit. The through-line is continuity of message, not a revolving door for its own sake.
Leavitt’s own exit was about home, not politics. She has two young children and said she is done chasing the next title for now.
"Right now I'm really focused on being a wife and a mother to my two very young children. That's why I made the decision to leave Washington. So we're just happy to be home and enjoying the ride," she said. "I am home with my family, and we're really excited about that."
"Right now I'm really focused on being a wife and a mother to my two very young children. That's why I made the decision to leave Washington. So we're just happy to be home and enjoying the ride."
She shut down talk of another run. Asked about office, including the 2028 cycle in which Sen. Maggie Hassan is up, Leavitt was blunt: "No, I'm all set. I don't have any plans to run for office in the near future at all, or in the future at all."
That posture fits a New Hampshire résumé that already includes a 2022 House race. She won a contested GOP nomination in the state’s 1st District, then lost the general election to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. She graduated from Saint Anselm College in 2019, interned in the Trump White House, and built a communications record that ran through Stefanik’s office and Trump-aligned outside groups before the campaign and the West Wing.
Her next public chapter is media. She set to join Fox News as an on-air contributor at the start of November, giving her a platform after the White House years without putting her back on the daily briefing clock.
Coverage of her path after the administration also noted the earlier move when she headed to MAGA Inc. in the post-press-secretary period, underscoring how quickly former aides shift between official and outside roles. Separate reporting marked the moment she joins Fox News in the contributor seat after leaving the podium.
The White House press secretary faces a hostile press corps, rapid policy turns, and a president who expects loyalty and precision under lights. Leavitt did the job for nearly two years. Zacharia’s five-day run showed how fast the role can end when the fit is wrong.
Leavitt’s advice stays practical: preparation matters, toughness matters, and knowing Trump’s policies matters. She is not auditioning for a comeback. She is telling the president what the chair demands and helping him find someone who can hold it.
A short stint does not rewrite the need for a steady fighter who can defend the administration’s record in full view of the country.
