Katie Zacharia Fears for Her Family’s Safety

Four children wearing MAGA hats smiled alongside Donald Trump in the Oval Office as the president presented them with gifts during a family birthday celebration.

The children were celebrating their mother, 41-year-old Katie Zacharia, who had just been named the new White House press secretary while a photographer captured the moment.

Now, after being abruptly removed from the West Wing and leaving Washington, DC, Zacharia is working to shield her family from photographers and strangers watching the property outside their home.

Zacharia, who held the press secretary post for only five days, has spoken publicly for the first time about the turmoil surrounding her departure. She also vowed to defend her husband, Tyler, and their four children, who are 12, 10, 8 and 6.

‘A photographer staged outside my location this morning and invaded my privacy,’ Zacharia told Our News Outlet on Monday. She described several encounters with paparazzi as ‘another example of the left’s hostility toward supporters of President Trump and law enforcement.’

A source familiar with Zacharia’s onboarding told Our News Outlet that she was left without White House protection.

Unlike her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, Zacharia was not assigned a protective detail when she joined the White House. She also received no security support as the political fallout from her departure unfolded.

The treatment contrasted with her arrival at the Department of Homeland Security in February. Then-Secretary Kristi Noem gave Zacharia a full security detail when she became the agency’s press secretary, and that protection continued briefly after her resignation.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Our News Outlet.

Several hours after criticizing the paparazzi, Zacharia was photographed outside her home during a walk. She appeared visibly unhappy and wore a blue-and-red exercise outfit.

Zacharia said she contacted police three times over people she believed were lingering around her home.

‘I will protect my family, and I will not tolerate it. Those who seek to destroy lives and endanger families for clicks should be ashamed,’ she said. ‘Anyone who targets me or my family, invades our privacy, or engages in harassment will be met with a full and firm response.’

As she attempts to resume a more ordinary life, Zacharia is dealing with the fallout from her brief five-day tenure as one of the Trump administration’s most prominent officials.

‘I want her to have a good life,’ Trump told reporters Friday as he departed for a campaign rally in Georgia, leaving Zacharia behind.

‘Honestly, you don’t need this,’ Trump recalled telling Zacharia. ‘You don’t have to do this if you don’t want… you should reconsider.’

Later that evening, Zacharia had dinner with Vice President JD Vance and his family at the Naval Observatory residence.

During the family’s Washington, DC, visit, she tried to make the most of their time in the capital by taking them out for lunch and dinner on Saturday. However, a diner who saw them told Our News Outlet that several people recognized the group and began photographing them.

The family left the following morning to return to California. 

Zacharia has received a flood of supportive text messages from friends and colleagues, who all told her that she was badly mistreated by the ‘swamp’ in Washington, DC, a source close to the family told Our News Outlet. 

But the gaping hole of the top spokesperson in the world remains. 

Leavitt is helping the president find a new person to fill the role, she confirmed to Fox News Digital in New Hampshire on Thursday 

‘As the president said, we wish Katie the best. The job obviously was not for her, but we wish her and her family well,’ Leavitt said.

Leavitt publicly supported Zacharia when the president hired her, writing on social media that the new hire would do ‘great work’ and that she had her ‘full support.’

Her support for Zacharia went beyond social media, two sources familiar with her efforts told Our News Outlet.

Leavitt spoke with Zacharia personally to provide her encouragement and tips before her first briefing, according to two people familiar with their conversations.

After the briefing was widely panned by critics, Leavitt refused comment from reporters looking for a verdict on Zacharia and avoided subsequent television hits on Fox to give her space.

But the dramatic five-day drama that led to her unexpected swift exit from the job left her disgusted with the culture in DC as she felt betrayed and stabbed in the back.

A source close to her told Our News Outlet that Zacharia is ‘better off’ after walking into a tough situation with ‘sharp knives from every direction,’ most notably from inside the White House, they claim.

‘Instead of focusing on how to help her succeed, colleagues spent their time texting negative tear-downs to the media,’ the source insisted. 

‘Purity tests and greed have destroyed a near-perfect launch pad for decades of success, from within,’ the source went on. 

Another source close to Zacharia told Our News Outlet she is trying to keep a low profile and protect her children for now.

Although she was disappointed by her unceremonious exit from the White House, she returned to her home resolved to recharge.

‘She’s ruthlessly loyal to the president,’ the source said, describing her as ‘grateful’ for the opportunity to serve President Trump when she was asked to.

‘She has many great things ahead.’

Before going silent on social media, Zacharia posted one more photo with boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr from a campaign trip with the president she had made that week.

‘You can either be a fighter or a marshmallow,’ she wrote, quoting the legendary fighter.