Trump Fires Press Secretary After Five Days, Orders Entire White House Press Corps to Reapply for Their Jobs

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump fired Press Secretary Katie Zacharia on Friday after five days in office and immediately ordered the entire White House press corps to vacate the briefing room and reapply for credentials through a new vetting process personally overseen by Zacharia herself.

«She lasted five days, which is four more than she deserved,» Trump told reporters gathered on the South Lawn. «But she's a fighter, and now she's going to find out which of you are fighters too. Nobody gets back in that room until Katie says they're ready.»

The reapplication process, which began Saturday morning, requires each journalist to sit for a one-on-one interview with Zacharia in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. According to a schedule posted outside the briefing room, interviews will run from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily for the next three weeks. Journalists who fail the interview are escorted from the premises by Secret Service agents and must wait ninety days before reapplying.

«We're looking for people who understand the president's vision,» Zacharia said during a break between interviews. «Some of these reporters have been here for decades. That's not necessarily a qualification. It might be a red flag.»

By Monday, only four journalists had passed. The briefing room, normally packed with correspondents, sat nearly empty as Trump delivered remarks to a single camera operator and a print reporter from a regional outlet. «This is the best press coverage I've ever had,» Trump said. «Quiet. Respectful. They don't interrupt.»

Zacharia, who was presented as a lawyer despite never passing the bar exam, now carries a clipboard and a stopwatch. «Five minutes per interview,» she said. «That's how long I had.»

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