Sources reveal to Ofoq News the scenes behind Trump’s decision to dismiss Katie Zakaria from her position after only 5 days.

- As he prepared for a 7-hour flight this week, US President Donald Trump showed no sign that anything was wrong. White House Press Secretary Katie Zakaria's stuttering 14-minute debut on stage was met with extremely negative criticism.

An hour later, she gave a confusing answer when asked where she took the bar exam. Trump's own advisers watched it all with some degree of shock.

However, during the flight to Alaska, Trump told Katie Zakaria that she was doing well, a source familiar with the conversation told Ofoq News, as it was her first trip on Air Force One. After three days of intense scrutiny, Zakaria was removed from her position, ending the shortest tenure of a White House press secretary in recent memory, and plans for her and her family to move from California to the East were put on hold.

Many of Trump's advisers described the whole thing as a fiasco. Trump said, on Friday, after her dismissal: “I asked her: Is this job right for you, Katie?”

This incident highlighted the tense atmosphere prevailing in Trump's inner circle less than 3 weeks before the midterm elections. Zakaria's sudden appointment - and her equally quick dismissal - came as a result of Trump's rush to employ a personality who would sincerely defend him on television; She was someone he had admired from afar, without giving much thought to the other requirements of the job.

In a statement commenting on this matter, White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung said: “All of this rapid speculation is just speculation, and is like a fairy tale that lacks even creativity. The truth is that Katie has taken on a very important mission, and she will continue to support the president as she transitions to a new role.”

Ofoq News contacted Zakaria to obtain a comment from her. In a post on X, she said working for Trump was an "honor."

“I wish more Americans appreciated him,” she wrote. “No one will ever make America great the way he did and continues to do.”

Some of Trump's advisers watched her brief tenure in office with some dismay, wondering how one of the most prominent and sought-after jobs in government could fall to someone who lacked the experience or confidence to do it. “What the hell is going on over there?” one of Trump’s advisers asked in amazement after watching Zakaria, who had recently taken office, conduct her first press conference, which was met with widespread criticism.

A number of advisers said that the new spokeswoman seemed completely unprepared and lacked the basic skills required to carry out the duties of her job. One asked: “Has anyone checked her qualifications?” According to a number of White House officials and advisers, the short answer was “no.” Instead, her selection came in a state of frustration among Trump: one month before the midterm elections, there were no voices defending him amid non-stop media coverage about the decline of the Republicans’ chances in those elections.

Until that moment, the US President had shown no real urgency to fill the position vacated by Carolyn Leavitt at the end of the summer. Advisers and allies put forward many names, but none of them aroused Trump's serious interest.

Even White House officials accepted that a White House spokesman might not be appointed before the midterm elections. But the worsening political problems facing Republicans - and the accompanying blaming of Trump for the party's crises - appeared to prompt the president to speed up the search.

After weeks of faltering attempts to find a new spokesperson, Trump suddenly became obsessed with filling this void, complaining to his advisors that there was no one to promote his message, according to sources familiar with the matter. Amid the anger, a supporting name has emerged: Zakaria, who regularly appears on cable news, is known as an ardent advocate, and is often presented on screen as a lawyer.

According to an informed source, Trump asked his advisors - including his chief of staff Susie Wiles - saying: “What about Katie?” He also sought Levitt’s advice. Just one week before that, Zakaria was not among the names proposed for this position.

Throughout the search for a replacement for Levitt, the White House faced difficulties in dealing with more famous figures, some of whom had previously criticized Trump. According to a White House official, it happened on more than one occasion that the list of candidates was reduced, only to later discover that one of them had made negative statements about Trump, which automatically excluded him from assuming the position.

Trump later described Zakaria's record as "impeccable." An informed source said that among her supporters inside the West Wing of the White House was Natalie Harp, a loyal aide to Trump who accompanies him on all his movements.

On Wednesday of last week, officials arranged a phone call between Zakaria and the US President. The next day, Zakaria traveled to Washington, and by Friday, she was inside the Oval Office. During their conversation, which took place in the absence of other parties, Trump spontaneously offered Zakaria the job, according to a source familiar with the matter, and aides quickly informed Wiles of the decision.

Zakaria said during an interview with Fox News last Friday evening: “I received a wonderful phone call from the chief talent acquisition official - the president himself - and it became clear that being a strong supporter of all his policies is really paying off.” That interview was broadcast at the same time that Trump was speaking at a rally in Syracuse, New York.

For some of Trump's longtime advisers, this was the first sign of trouble; Compromising the US president's activities with television appearances has long been considered a grave mistake for subordinates - including members of the government and senior administration officials. However, even if Trump noticed, he showed no reaction.

By Sunday evening, it was announced that Zakaria would hold her first “introductory” press briefing very early Tuesday morning. After another round trip between Washington and California, Zakaria woke up at three in the morning on Tuesday to prepare; Her materials were not completed until just 90 minutes before she entered the press briefing room.

It was clear that she lacked preparation. Her performance was faltering during the opening, even though she was reading a stereotypical script full of praise for Trump's record. “There are people who have this talent and others who don't,” a senior administration official said.

And she doesn't have it; “She was not able to impose her presence and control the room.” When it came time for questions, she did not know whether the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine - a question that was very easy to predict.

But she announced that Kimberly Guilfoyle had been asked to resign from her position as ambassador to Greece, which Zakaria later used as an example of the success of that step. “I think I'm one of the first media spokespeople to announce changes to the management staff,” she said later that week — as her professional future was growing bleaker.

“I was honored by President Trump’s confidence in me to relay that information.” This was, in the end, the only real information she provided during her tenure.

Although Trump initially did not think her performance in the first press briefing was particularly bad, he was later embarrassed by the media coverage that followed. There were other indications of Zakaria's lack of experience.

During Trump's visit to Alaska, which followed a briefing she gave that sparked widespread criticism, an informed source stated that Zakaria informed White House officials that she had arranged an interview for the president with a reporter from Fox News following the public rally, but she was immediately warned that the US president did not prefer to engage in any activity after his events, especially since he had just finished a two-hour appearance. These are preferences that were well known to the Trump team. The source reported that Zakaria insisted that the move would be wise, noting that the reporter was a “friend.”

When Trump got off the stage and was about to leave, Zakaria briefed him on the plan; He seemed clearly upset and refused to be interviewed. Although he eventually retracted his position, the incident confirmed to those around him that Zakaria was not yet aware of the nature of the person she was working for.

Two people familiar with the details of her dismissal told Ofoq News that when Trump polled other senior aides regarding her, he found only a few who were willing to support her or defend her performance. Although many of these aides praised her performance directly in front of her, they admitted in private conversations that her performance was not good.

In this context, a person with direct knowledge of Trump's comments told Ofoq News that he told his allies and advisors this week that she may have been "not qualified to the required level" or not ready for the major confrontation. As questions increased about her legal qualifications, as Zakaria presented herself as a “lawyer,” despite the absence of any public evidence that she had passed the bar exam, the Wall Street Journal revealed that she had actually failed that exam.

Zakaria later confirmed this publicly, claiming that she had received guidance stating that she could describe herself as a "lawyer" even if she did not have the status of "accredited lawyer". In fact, Zakaria had repeatedly promoted posts on social media describing her as a “certified lawyer.”

Her public defense of herself contributed to strengthening the impression that she had put herself in a position beyond her capabilities. Where she tried to control a story that was getting out of control, but she failed. After a series of unexpectedly intense interviews on Fox News, specifically her appearance with Sean Hannity, a friend of Trump, on Thursday evening, where the anchor confronted her with intense questions about her legal qualifications, Trump felt that her continuation in the position had become impossible, but he did not inform her of the decision until Friday.

Even during another appearance on Fox News, Zakaria stated that she believes she still has Trump's trust. On her way back to the White House, she told the reporters present that she looked forward to working with them, and encouraged them to get her phone number.

Four hours later, Trump left the White House, following a frank conversation with his new spokeswoman. Trump said he told Zakaria: “Honestly, if I were you, I would reconsider it.” A source close to Trump told Ofoq News that he still has respect and appreciation for Zakaria, and noted that she and her family had dinner on Friday evening with Vice President J.D. Vance at his residence, which confirms her prestigious position in the White House and the administration.

However, Trump still lacks a prominent spokesperson in the crucial final stretch before Election Day, and he gave no indication Friday that he was nominating someone for the job, claiming, "A lot of people want this job," as the search began anew.