Karoline Leavitt Tells Bill Maher Katie Zacharia “Wasn’t a Good Fit,” Says Trump Is “Far More Sane” Than His Predecessor

Breaking

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher Friday night, Oct. 23, and defended President Donald Trump’s decision to push out her successor, Katie Zacharia, after less than a week on the job. “And as the president said, it wasn’t a good fit, and that’s okay,” Leavitt told Maher. “I wish her well, and we’re on to the next. And he has a lot of options.”

Leavitt also leaned into Trump’s reputation from his reality television days. “The president did have a hit show called The Apprentice, where he’s known for, you know, moving on from people,” she said. “So hey, it’s in his nature to do that type of thing, I guess.” Maher joked that a pitcher sometimes gives up a home run in the first inning, but “they don’t usually go to the bullpen that quick.”

Details & Background

Zacharia succeeded Leavitt as press secretary but lasted less than a week. She held a single briefing that ran 14 minutes before she was ousted the previous Friday, according to Yahoo News, and Trump said at the time that it “wasn’t a good fit.” TMZ reported that Zacharia was forced out after a flubbed first press conference. Leavitt, who left the White House in August to spend time with her family, is set to become a Fox News commentator.

Leavitt gave Zacharia credit for taking on the job at all. She called the role one of the hardest in Washington and noted that only 37 people in history have served as White House press secretary, according to TMZ. “That pressure in that room is enormous,” Leavitt said. “The press are vicious, and you know I give her credit for standing up there.” Maher, who had dinner with Trump the week before, joked that Zacharia’s time in the job was shorter than his four-hour dinner with the president.

Reactions

Maher pressed Leavitt on Trump’s temperament. “He gets it and then he doesn’t get it. Now I’m an optimist. I prefer to think of the president as half sane,” Maher said. Leavitt pushed back, calling Trump “very sane” and adding, “He’s a lot more, I think we can agree, he is far more sane than the last one. We had a mental patient,” in an apparent reference to former President Joe Biden.

Leavitt also spoke warmly about her former boss. “Look, he loves our country very much, and he wants to make it right,” she said. “He was my boss, but to me, he’s also a friend, and he gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.” Maher relayed that Trump once told him, “You’re my enemy. Pass the peas,” and asked Leavitt whether anything could shake her loyalty, noting that “a lot of Republicans now say we’ve had enough.”

Why This Matters to You

The White House press secretary is the public’s most direct window into the administration. Turnover at the podium matters, especially less than two weeks before an election, because it shapes how clearly the administration’s message on the economy, the border and foreign policy reaches voters. Leavitt’s appearance on a liberal comedian’s show is also a reminder that conservatives are willing to make their case in hostile territory.

Trump’s critics see the quick exit as chaos, while his defenders see a president who demands results and moves fast when something is not working. Either way, whoever steps up to the podium next will carry the White House message through the final stretch of the midterms and into the last two years of Trump’s term. That choice will matter to every American who relies on the briefing room for answers.