Katie Zacharia reveals the White House asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign

[0:00] Let's take you live now to the White House press briefing [0:01] for Katie Zachariah's first briefing [0:04] as the new White House press secretary. [0:05] Good morning. [0:06] I am so honored to work for President Trump [0:13] and the American people [0:14] as the new White House press secretary. [0:18] I want to thank President Trump [0:21] for his trust that he has placed in me. [0:26] I have wanted to work for him for a very long time. [0:31] I'm looking forward to working with each of you as well, [0:34] especially as we are in the middle of the midterm blitz [0:38] with energy and excitement [0:41] never seen before in the history of midterms [0:45] thanks to President Trump. [0:48] Just look no further than last night in Youngstown, Ohio [0:51] where President Trump delivered another blockbuster rally [0:56] out on the trail. [0:59] The arena was overflowing with enthusiasm [1:01] as thousands came out to support President Trump [1:05] as well as special guests Jake Paul [1:07] and football legend John Gruden. [1:11] The president also announced the Department of War [1:14] has officially selected Cleveland, Ohio [1:17] as the new home [1:19] for the U.S. Navy's submarine component repair center. [1:22] This massive 46,000 square foot facility [1:27] will manufacture, repair, and maintain key parts [1:33] for virtually all new and existing submarines. [1:37] This is historic. [1:38] Every day Americans are showing up in droves [1:42] to attend these rallies [1:43] because of President Trump's America first agenda [1:48] of lower taxes, higher wages, [1:51] and one of my favorites, secure borders. [1:54] But it doesn't stop there. [1:59] President Trump is planning to hold rallies [2:02] in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, where I will be with him, [2:08] and Georgia, building off of the incredible momentum [2:13] generated over the last several days [2:16] from his stops in Tennessee, New York, Texas, and Nebraska. [2:22] He is an energetic president. [2:25] Attendance is at record highs [2:27] as enthusiastic, hardworking Americans [2:30] are lining up and packing arenas [2:33] to support President Trump and Republicans. [2:36] It's not hard to see why. [2:42] President Trump is fighting and delivering [2:44] for American workers every minute of every day. [2:50] Real wages are up 1.2% since President Trump took office, [2:55] with average annual earnings outpacing inflation by $800. [3:00] Under Biden, real wages fell nearly 4% [3:06] with the average private sector workers' annual purchasing power [3:09] declining by nearly $3,000 annually. [3:15] President Trump is the first president in modern history [3:18] to actually lower prescription drug prices, [3:23] delivering the biggest drop in 63 years. [3:27] President Trump has created more than 1 million private sector jobs [3:31] in his second term, including nearly 112,000 factory construction jobs [3:37] and 72,000 manufacturing jobs this year alone. [3:43] And thanks to President Trump, [3:44] we are once again bringing back American energy dominance [3:49] because energy security is national security. [3:54] President Trump secured the biggest oil deal [3:57] in world history, delivering the U.S. majority control [4:02] of more than 65 billion barrels [4:05] of proven oil reserves in Venezuela. [4:10] He had a historic one-day war, [4:12] and now we have a booming economy [4:14] and a great relationship with Venezuela. [4:18] The U.S. achieved record domestic oil [4:21] and gas production in 2025, [4:24] and record crude and petroleum product exports in 2026. [4:30] Building off of his historic boom in energy production [4:33] in the first 15 months of this administration, [4:36] we have secured trillions of dollars [4:38] in new investments, trillions of dollars, [4:42] including $1.4 trillion from the United Arab Emirates, [4:45] $600 billion from Apple, and $340 billion from Amazon. [4:52] No other president could have gotten these deals done. [4:54] Just weeks ago, President Trump announced [4:58] that Masabi Metallics will build [5:01] a massive $15 billion steel complex in Iowa, [5:06] the largest steel plant ever built in the United States. [5:11] This facility, a historic facility, [5:16] will create 1,750 new permanent jobs [5:20] and support up to 6,000 construction jobs [5:23] and generate an estimated $95 billion in economic output. [5:31] In addition, President Trump and Endural [5:34] announced Arsenal 2, [5:36] the biggest American shipyard push [5:39] since World War II in Maryland. [5:41] This new facility will create about 3,100 direct jobs [5:46] and support more than 11,000 indirect jobs. [5:51] President Trump also unveiled [5:53] a South Korea energy investment package [5:55] of up to $200 billion in the United States. [5:59] This is an amazing deal. [6:01] This includes as much as $120 billion [6:04] to build eight large-scale nuclear power plants, [6:10] something we've needed as the United States [6:11] and something President Trump promised [6:13] on the campaign trail [6:14] and something President Trump is delivering on, [6:17] just like he delivers on every promise. [6:22] In addition to that, [6:23] there is $54 billion tied to the Alaska LNG pipeline [6:31] and terminal to service the Pacific Rim [6:34] and sell fuel to our allies, [6:37] as well as $22.3 billion [6:39] for a 6-gigawatt natural gas power facility in Texas. [6:46] Not only is the Trump administration [6:47] bringing in trillions of dollars [6:49] to invest throughout the country, [6:51] but we are also protecting your tax dollars [6:54] by addressing fraud head-on. [6:57] Since taking office, [6:59] the Trump administration has uncovered [7:01] over $260 billion of fraud, [7:05] stopped $72 billion of fraud annually [7:09] through administrative actions [7:11] and recovered $58.9 billion [7:14] through indictments, settlements, [7:17] and civil monetary penalties. [7:20] Above all, President Trump [7:23] is working to secure [7:25] the Western Hemisphere for centuries to come. [7:30] President Trump signed [7:31] an unprecedented agreement [7:32] giving the United States [7:34] lasting control [7:35] over security interests in Greenland. [7:39] President Trump has used [7:41] the power of tariffs [7:42] to stop China [7:44] from producing fentanyl precursor chemicals. [7:48] The fentanyl killed many of our citizens, [7:51] and he is hard at work [7:52] in ensuring that that won't happen. [7:54] And here at home, [7:56] fentanyl trafficking [7:57] across the southern border [7:59] is down 56%, [8:02] and fentanyl-linked deaths [8:04] plunged 22% in a single year [8:07] because of President Trump. [8:10] This is a president [8:11] and administration [8:12] that is looking out for you, [8:15] the American people, [8:16] and I'm thrilled [8:17] to officially be part [8:19] of this incredible journey together. [8:22] And with that, [8:23] I will take your questions [8:26] here in our new media seat, [8:29] we have Nick Gelbertson [8:31] from Breitbart. [8:32] Hi, Katie. [8:32] Welcome to the briefing rooms, [8:34] and congrats on the new position. [8:36] One of the things [8:37] that your predecessor, [8:38] Caroline Levitt, did [8:39] is open this room up [8:40] to more voices, not less. [8:42] At Breitbart, [8:43] that's something our founder, [8:44] Andrew Breitbart, [8:45] certainly believed in, [8:46] and whether that's adding [8:48] this new media seat, [8:49] adding new media voices [8:50] to the pool. [8:51] Can you tell us [8:52] what you plan to do [8:53] to continue to ensure [8:54] that new media voices [8:56] continue to be heard [8:57] here at the White House? [8:58] Yeah, well, firstly, [8:59] my predecessor, Caroline Levitt, [9:00] did an incredible job, [9:01] and I completely agree [9:03] with the choice [9:04] of new media seat. [9:05] We are absolutely [9:06] going to keep it, [9:08] and we're going to expand on it [9:09] to the extent possible. [9:10] We love new media, [9:12] and we want to be able [9:13] to embrace it. [9:14] Absolutely. [9:15] And then just to follow up, too, [9:16] you did touch [9:17] on presidential travel. [9:18] The president's been [9:19] all over the place, [9:20] and you kind of laid out [9:21] his schedule [9:22] over the next couple days, [9:23] but is it only going [9:24] to intensify here [9:25] in the next couple of weeks [9:26] up to midterms? [9:28] Absolutely. [9:28] You can expect [9:29] more of the midterm blitz. [9:32] Just now, [9:32] we've added Kentucky, [9:34] and we have a few other stops [9:36] as he goes down to Florida. [9:38] So it'll be Georgia, [9:39] Kentucky, and Florida. [9:41] Katie. [9:42] Hi, Katie. [9:43] Hello. [9:44] We will take Peter Ducey. [9:46] Thanks, Katie. [9:47] Yes. [9:47] Nice to meet you. [9:49] You're starting [9:50] as White House press secretary [9:51] three weeks [9:52] before a midterm cycle. [9:53] that President Trump [9:54] himself says [9:55] will be very tough [9:56] for Republicans. [9:58] It's your job [10:00] just to speak [10:01] about White House matters, [10:02] or is it to make things [10:04] less tough [10:05] for Republicans [10:06] in the midterms? [10:07] Well, but Peter, [10:08] I get to do [10:09] what I was doing [10:10] on the outside already, [10:12] which was hoping [10:13] to amplify, multiply, [10:15] and expand upon [10:16] President Trump's [10:17] incredible agenda [10:18] for the American people. [10:19] and what I hope [10:21] to do in this position [10:22] is to take that [10:22] into an official capacity [10:24] and only build on, [10:25] only amplify, [10:26] and only multiply [10:27] to the extent possible [10:29] all of the wins [10:30] he's making for Americans. [10:33] For Americans [10:33] to understand [10:34] how much has changed [10:36] in this brief period [10:37] of time, [10:37] what he's been able [10:38] to accomplish, [10:39] my goal is to be able [10:40] to communicate that [10:41] in complete tandem [10:43] with the president [10:44] as he is his own [10:45] best spokesperson [10:46] and will absolutely [10:47] be leading the way [10:48] as with that. [10:50] And I want to ask [10:52] you a policy question. [10:53] Has the U.S. [10:54] stopped sharing intel [10:55] with Ukraine? [10:57] I'll have to get back [10:58] to you on that. [11:00] Alina Shirazi. [11:02] Yes. [11:04] Alina Shirazi. [11:06] Hi. [11:07] Congrats on the job. [11:08] Thank you. [11:09] First of all, [11:09] and I have two questions [11:11] for you if I can. [11:13] First of all, [11:14] on Kimberly Guilfoyle, [11:15] the Daily Mail [11:15] has been reporting [11:16] on her since last year. [11:17] The president said yesterday [11:19] to reporters [11:20] that he is considering [11:21] firing her. [11:22] Do you know a timeline [11:23] for that [11:24] and also potentially [11:25] who could be on the short list [11:26] to replace her [11:27] if he does? [11:28] We have asked [11:29] Ambassador Guilfoyle [11:31] to resign. [11:33] She has been [11:33] a wonderful asset [11:34] to the team [11:35] and we wish her well. [11:37] Okay. [11:38] Second question for you, [11:39] if I may, [11:41] a personal question. [11:42] Your family is in California. [11:44] Your husband, [11:45] you have four children. [11:47] I'm wondering [11:47] how you manage, [11:49] how are you going [11:49] to manage that? [11:50] Caroline Levitt left [11:51] because she wanted [11:51] to spend more time [11:52] with her family [11:53] and also, [11:53] did she give you [11:54] any advice [11:55] on how to handle [11:56] this job [11:57] and the people [11:58] in this room? [11:58] Well, first of all, [12:00] I want to give my husband [12:01] an amazing shout-out. [12:02] We have four kids [12:03] ranging from 12, 10, 8, and 6. [12:06] Three of them are boys, [12:07] so we have a handful. [12:09] And I adore my family. [12:11] I love them. [12:12] They are my priority. [12:14] I love being with my kids. [12:16] The idea of not spending evenings [12:18] with my kids [12:18] is completely unacceptable. [12:21] So my president, [12:23] excuse me, [12:23] my husband, [12:25] that's a good one. [12:27] My husband is out here, [12:29] is out here for the week [12:31] because we have [12:32] two birthdays in our family [12:33] and we are very, [12:34] very protective [12:35] of celebrating birthdays [12:36] as a family. [12:37] So he brought [12:37] the entire crew out here. [12:39] Bless him. [12:40] It's a lot. [12:41] And we will be moving out here. [12:43] And as far as [12:44] your second question is, [12:46] yes, Caroline has been [12:48] an incredible support. [12:49] She gave me great [12:51] and wonderful feedback [12:52] on how to balance. [12:53] I think this job [12:54] is not one you necessarily [12:55] balance. [12:56] And I would love to share [12:58] that in my career, [12:59] I stayed home with my kids [13:00] from 2014 to 2020 [13:02] in the process of having them. [13:05] And then when I started working again, [13:06] I was able to integrate [13:07] them into my life. [13:09] There are many photos [13:10] of which are not public. [13:11] The kids and I at Fox Bureau [13:13] where they are sitting with me [13:15] in the pod before it hits. [13:16] So I intend to, [13:17] to the extent possible, [13:18] include my family, [13:20] include my kids in my work. [13:22] Though my work will be demanding, [13:24] they will always be a priority. [13:25] And I, President Trump [13:27] is the most family-friendly [13:29] president we've ever had. [13:30] He has hired more women [13:32] with families. [13:33] And the fact that he knew [13:34] I had four kids [13:35] and he knew that this job [13:36] would be demanding [13:37] and still placed his trust in me [13:39] shows that I know [13:40] I'm capable of being able [13:41] to step up to that. [13:42] So thank you for that question. [13:44] In fact, I am going to end it [13:45] because President Trump [13:46] is heading out to Marine One [13:48] for our historic trip to Alaska. [13:50] And we can ask him [13:52] all of the questions out there. [13:54] So thank you so much. [13:58] Did the president speak [14:00] with the ambassador of Gilroyal? [14:01] To the question on, [14:03] the president will be back on Thursday. [14:05] And that's what I will answer. [14:06] I'll leave it there. [14:07] He will answer those questions [14:11] out in Marine One. [14:15] Okie dokie. [14:16] Talk about burying the lead. [14:18] After much chatter about stuff [14:21] that no one was really [14:22] paying attention to, [14:23] the new press secretary [14:24] at the White House [14:26] broke the news [14:27] that the president of the United States [14:29] has asked the ambassador to Greece, [14:32] Kimberly Guilfoyle, to resign. [14:34] That is the news coming out [14:35] of that White House press briefing. [14:36] Let's get straight to Aaron Navarro [14:38] who's joining us now to break down [14:39] some of the things we heard. [14:41] Aaron, this is sort of [14:42] big bombshell news. [14:43] We've been waiting to hear [14:44] what the president was going to do. [14:46] He indicated yesterday [14:47] that he was not very happy [14:48] with ambassador Guilfoyle. [14:50] And now, after many, many [14:52] words and sentences, [14:53] just a very short sentence [14:54] that we've asked Kimberly Guilfoyle [14:57] to resign. [14:57] No other information. [14:59] What do you make of that news? [15:01] They also added, [15:02] we wish her well. [15:03] And that was kind of the extent [15:04] of what she said [15:05] about Kimberly Guilfoyle. [15:07] Definitely burying the lead there. [15:08] Again, this all stems [15:09] from allegations [15:10] that were uncovered [15:11] by the Wall Street Journal [15:12] earlier this week [15:13] that Guilfoyle solicited [15:15] $100,000 in credit card payment [15:18] from a Trump donor [15:19] in exchange for political access. [15:21] This was right before [15:21] her confirmation [15:23] as the ambassador to Greece. [15:26] I thought that was [15:27] just a remarkable moment [15:28] where she actually shared [15:30] some breaking news at that point. [15:31] Because as you mentioned, [15:32] she started off her first briefing [15:34] as the new White House [15:35] press secretary, [15:35] kind of just like listing off [15:37] the president's wins. [15:38] It wasn't too different [15:39] from what we see from him [15:40] on Truth Social [15:41] or even in the rally [15:42] talking about the economic numbers, [15:44] the drop in immigration [15:45] at the southern border. [15:47] She also talked a bit [15:48] about the president's [15:48] political travel, [15:50] his trips to the south, [15:51] Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida, [15:52] I believe were the states [15:53] that she mentioned [15:54] he'd be going to later this week. [15:56] We know that going into this, [15:58] she had been very critical [15:59] of other democratic candidates [16:01] across the country. [16:03] It seemed that the midterms [16:04] would be a focus for her. [16:06] Obviously, the timing of her coming in [16:08] makes the midterms a focus [16:09] for this White House. [16:11] You have seen government watchdogs [16:13] claim that her predecessor, [16:15] Caroline Levitt, [16:16] the White House press secretary, [16:18] had been violating the Hatch Act [16:19] by talking about politics [16:21] and kind of the partisan nature [16:23] of things. [16:24] When it comes to the midterms, [16:25] we'll see if they make [16:26] those same allegations [16:27] about Zakaria. [16:29] Yeah, very interesting piece [16:31] about the ambassador Guilfoyle, [16:34] perhaps soon to not be [16:35] ambassador Guilfoyle. [16:36] What was interesting to me [16:37] about that is you had yesterday [16:39] the president guys saying [16:41] that he was not happy with her. [16:42] But as you know, Aaron, [16:43] Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, [16:44] who is ostensibly her boss, right, [16:47] was in Greece. [16:49] He was asked by reporters [16:50] on the tarmac getting on a plane [16:52] what he thought about it. [16:53] And he said, oh, you guys, [16:54] let's report the news, [16:55] anonymous sources. [16:56] And he essentially blasted [16:58] the news media, [16:58] which has become easy to do [17:00] over the last couple of years [17:03] with presidents, [17:04] both Democrat and Republican, [17:05] whenever there are tough questions [17:07] asked about accountability. [17:09] But these text messages [17:10] that were shared in the story [17:12] that broke about Ambassador Guilfoyle [17:14] showed that she was even aware [17:16] that the things that she was asking [17:18] of this guy Dieters [17:19] could potentially cost her [17:22] for her ambassadorship, right? [17:24] At one point, she wrote, [17:25] you literally cost me my ambassadorship. [17:27] At one point, she also wrote, [17:30] you know, this is essentially saying [17:32] that, you know, writing it all out [17:34] like this is a bit dangerous. [17:35] Call me on the signal platform, [17:38] which uses encrypted messaging. [17:41] So certainly she had been aware [17:42] to some extent. [17:43] Her lawyer in some of the latest [17:46] reporting and statements from them [17:47] who didn't deny these texts. [17:49] And you've seen Eric Dieters [17:51] potentially flow the defamation [17:53] lawsuits against Guilfoyle over this. [17:56] We knew that at least going into [17:57] this briefing that she was aware [17:59] that President Trump was [18:00] potentially going to fire her [18:02] and had been seeking advice [18:03] from her attorneys as well as [18:06] Trump administration aides. [18:07] But you saw the press secretary [18:08] there mentioned that the White [18:11] House has officially asked her [18:12] to resign. [18:13] You mentioned also her appearance [18:15] with Rubio in Athens that came [18:17] just hours after the Wall Street [18:19] Journal story come out. [18:20] In the days since, you've seen [18:21] obviously President Trump say [18:23] that he's not happy with these [18:25] allegations. [18:25] You've also seen Vice President [18:27] Vance not necessarily getting [18:28] into detail about these [18:30] allegations, but saying that if [18:31] this was true, if this pay-to-play [18:34] scenario was true, then [18:35] consequences will be suffered. [18:37] And obviously we're seeing that [18:38] as announced by the White House [18:39] press secretary just earlier this [18:41] hour. [18:41] What I was going to say about [18:43] the Ambassador Guilfoyle piece [18:45] is, yes, she may have buried [18:47] the lead, but I also put it on [18:48] the reporters in the room. [18:49] No one asked that question [18:50] first. [18:51] So she was also... [18:52] That's a good point, Cal. [18:53] Yeah. [18:53] Yeah. [18:54] So we, you know, you always [18:56] have to think about your [18:57] responding to what's in front of [18:58] you as well. [18:59] But to that point, Erin, we [19:01] heard a lot from her about the [19:04] president's energy initiatives, [19:06] Venezuela, et cetera. [19:07] She threw out a lot of numbers [19:08] from stopping fentanyl link [19:10] deaths through [19:11] tariffs to uncovering $260 [19:13] billion of fraud. [19:15] Can you fact-check some of that [19:17] for us? [19:19] In terms of the economic numbers, [19:21] you saw her rely more so on [19:23] criticism of former president [19:25] Biden and not necessarily [19:27] addressing the higher costs that [19:29] have been caused by the chokehold [19:31] on the strait of Hormuz, caused by [19:33] the president's war in Iran. [19:34] It has been a big political thorn [19:35] for his party throughout these [19:38] midterms. [19:38] She referenced broadly the imports [19:41] of diesel from other countries [19:43] and kind of talked again broadly [19:45] about the U.S. having a stronger [19:46] relationship with Venezuela. [19:48] I just thought it was pretty [19:49] remarkable how she started off [19:51] talking about the energy that the [19:53] president is getting at these [19:54] rallies. [19:55] You don't necessarily see that all [19:56] the time from the White House [19:57] press secretary talking and [19:58] starting with such a partisan [20:00] bent. [20:00] All right, Aaron, really [20:03] appreciate you breaking it down [20:04] for us. [20:05] We will get back to you as it [20:07] warrants.