Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who was fired from her role after five days following a rocky debut and scrutiny of her legal background, accused reporters of fueling “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in their coverage of President Trump.
While Zacharia has remained relatively quiet since her ouster less than two weeks ago, in an op-ed published Monday by The New York Post, the former press secretary reiterated her loyalty to the president and blamed the press for her tumultuous coverage.
“The president deserves a press corps that reports his results straight — instead of feeding the incurable Trump Derangement Syndrome that fake news keeps alive,” she wrote.
Zacharia, who returned to California after her firing, made clear she has no plans to abandon Trump, describing her departure from the White House as a temporary setback.
“I’ve always wanted to work for President Donald Trump, so being back in California feels like an interlude — a temporary pause between the work that matters most,” she said.
Zacharia used a quote from Trump’s 1997 book, “The Art of the Comeback,” where he wrote, “Never quit and always hit back.”
The former press secretary said that mantra continued to guide her, adding that she watched the president live by those words on the campaign trail.
Much of the op-ed focused on Trump’s efforts to rally Republican voters ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, where the party is working to protect its Senate and House majorities amid a contentious campaign season.
“He is on the trail because Republican candidates need the turnout boost only he can deliver, and he is supplying it at a pace and intensity the White House has never seen before,” she wrote.
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