Trump says his five-day press secretary ‘freaked out’ and he told her to find nicer work

Katie Zacharia lasted five days as White House press secretary. A week later her old boss gave the exit interview for her, in front of a rally crowd: “she freaked out.”

Pointing at the press pen in Fort Myers, Trump allowed that “six, seven percent are really fine journalists,” then explained what the rest did: “they were screaming.” Then: “No wonder that poor young woman, she was a perfect, beautiful woman, when she walked into that press room and they started screaming at her, she freaked out. And I said, you know what, there are nicer ways for you to make a living.”

That’s a new version. On 16 Oct a senior administration official told NBC she was “transitioning into a new role” to be announced later. Her own farewell called him “kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful.” Earlier that day Trump said she’d been treated “pretty nastily” and that he was letting her decide. Now it’s a beauty review, a freak-out and some career advice.

What actually happened, per NBC: a first briefing that lasted under 15 minutes, a question about intelligence-sharing with Ukraine she couldn’t answer, and then the news that she had called herself a lawyer without passing the bar. He still hasn’t named a replacement.