The Latest: Trump's new press secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving post after a rocky start

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is transitioning out of the role after a brief and rough tenure as President Donald Trump’s chief spokeswoman. A person familiar with the matter said Zacharia is transitioning out of the job. The person was granted anonymity to discuss a personnel decision not yet made public.

Trump cast significant doubt on Zacharia’s future earlier Friday, telling reporters that he would have a discussion with her following his weekend travel and that if he were her, he would reconsider the job.

Trump was campaigning in Georgia on Friday for a rally with top Republican candidates in a state that has long been the epicenter of the president’s false claims about election fraud.

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Trump finishes roaming, 90-minute-plus speech in north Georgia

The president has completed a meandering speech for more than an hour and a half, mocking Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff several times before bringing his Republican challenger, Mike Collins, to the stage.

Trump repeatedly called Ossoff “PeeWee Herman” and mocked him for wearing makeup. The president acknowledged that he also wears makeup but insisted it is “light” compared to the senator.

Collins is a Trump acolyte who has echoed the president’s falsehoods that the 2020 election was rigged.

The president repeated those assertions multiple times in Dalton.

Trump also called gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson to the stage — and acknowledged that Jackson defeated Trump’s first choice for the GOP nomination in a primary runoff. But Jackson has been more cautious about praising Trump lately.

Jackson, especially, has targeted the middle of the Georgia electorate in his race against Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor.

In Georgia, Trump repeats the lie that he won the state in 2020

The president was just several minutes into his speech in Dalton before he repeated his false claims about the 2020 election.

He was talking first about Sen. Jon Ossoff defeating then-Sen. David Perdue that cycle.

“It was a rigged election. You know that,” Trump said, drawing some cheers. “David won, and I also won the election in Georgia.”

Georgia’s Republican secretary of state certified the results of both Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden in November 2020 and two Senate runoffs the following January.

Multiple courts rejected challenges of the presidential results.

Democratic lawmakers urge DOJ to rule out seizing ballots or voting equipment in the midterms

Three Democratic senators wrote to Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday requesting a commitment that he won’t seize ballots or any other midterm election materials before the votes have concluded and the results have been certified.

The letter from Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Dick Durbin, D-Il., argued any such actions would constitute unlawful election interference by the Justice Department.

The letter comes against a backdrop of escalating threats by the DOJ to election officials who don’t comply with its demands. On Thursday, the DOJ sued California election officials, alleging they didn’t act quickly enough to review names the federal government identified as “likely” noncitizens.

The Justice Department seized 2020 ballots from Georgia’s Fulton County earlier this year, saying it was investigating “irregularities.” Georgia’s votes in that presidential race were counted three times and affirmed Democrat Joe Biden’s win

Georgia crowd welcomes Trump’s Marine One arrival

A few thousand rally attendees stood with phone cameras aloft to capture the president’s helicopter touching down at the Dalton airport in northwest Georgia.

Trump made the short flight from Dobbins Air Force Base, north of Atlanta.

The president hopes to use the rally to boost support for Republicans, especially Rick Jackson’s campaign for governor and Mike Collins’ Senate bid.

US has blocked Iran from exporting $25B worth of oil, commander says

The U.S. has blocked Iran from exporting $25 billion worth of oil through a naval blockade and has helped to freeze $350 million worth of cryptocurrency belonging to the Islamic Republic, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said in a video released Friday.

Adm. Brad Cooper, who oversees U.S. Central Command, outlined efforts to pressure Iran as it continues to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had effectively closed the vital oil shipping corridor after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, pushing up oil global prices.

Cooper said U.S. forces are helping ships get through the strait, including 400 merchant vessels over the past week, and helped usher out more than a billion barrels of oil since the war began.

He said more than 20 civilian mariners have been killed by Iran’s attacks against commercial shipping since February.

Kelly Loeffler makes another appearance at the last rally site of her Senate career

The Small Business Administration chief was part of Trump’s last trip to Dalton, Georgia, on Jan. 4, 2021.

She was a U.S. senator then, facing a runoff the next day against Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock. She lost, as then-Sen. David Perdue did to Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff.

Perdue is now Trump’s ambassador to China.

The day after their defeat, Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress convened to certify Democrat Joe Biden as president-elect.

Loeffler did not mention her Senate tenure or that 2020 election cycle as she urged the north Georgia crowd to back Rep. Mike Collins over Ossoff on Nov. 3.

“Georgia is Donald Trump country!” Loeffler said.

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving the job after a rocky start

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is transitioning out of the role after a brief and rough tenure as Trump’s chief spokesperson.

A person familiar with the matter said Zacharia is transitioning out of the job. The person was granted anonymity to discuss a personnel decision not yet made public.

But Trump cast significant doubt on Zacharia’s future earlier Friday, telling reporters that he would have a discussion with her following his weekend travel and that if he were her, he would reconsider the job.

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—- Will Weissert and Seung Min Kim

Trump says he thinks Saudis would accept Israel’s help to thwart Houthis

Trump told reporters Friday that he thinks Saudi Arabia will likely accept help from Israel to thwart Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. They’ve been attacking high-profile targets in Saudi Arabia.

“I think they will, sure,” Trump said outside the White House before flying off to a rally in Georgia. “Israel’s been very helpful to Saudi Arabia. And yeah, they certainly would do that.”

Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, though that is something that Trump has been trying to encourage during his time in office.

The Houthis, hardened by years of civil war, have emerged as Iran’s most effective armed proxy of the moment, but experts say they also have their own agenda. Either way, they are applying increasing pressure on a key U.S. ally.

Rick Jackson does not repeat his promise to be Trump’s ‘favorite governor’

The Georgia governor candidate had five minutes on the same stage where Trump will speak later Friday, and he did not mention the president at all.

That’s a notable turn for a billionaire businessman who’s compared his bid to Trump’s 2016 campaign, promised to be “this guy’s favorite governor” and lead “like Trump, but with a Southern tone.”

Jackson did remind the crowd in Dalton that he has the support of outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

“I am proud to have Gov. Kemp’s endorsement” and that “he is trusting me” with the job, Jackson said, promising “we’re going to take Georgia to the next level.”

It’s not clear whether Jackson will return to the stage with the president when Trump arrives.

Trump praises ‘great hero’ who helped after Oregon school shooting

Trump told reporters at the White House he had been briefed on the shooting and praised the actions of a “great hero” who he said “took care of business.”

“It’s a terrible thing, but thank goodness for a man that had a gun and knew how to use it,” Trump said, saying the tragedy otherwise likely would have been much worse.

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Zacharia faced scrutiny over claims she’s a lawyer questions during her first week as press secretary

Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax.

But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago.

The questions added to the confusion surrounding Trump’s decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment and whose debut at the podium on Tuesday has been widely panned.

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Trump says he didn’t order restrictions for satellite system used by Ukraine’s military

Trump told reporters Friday that he didn’t order restrictions on a satellite communications system that is used by Ukraine’s military, cutting connections to some of its drones.

The president also doubted the disruption came from Elon Musk, who owns Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service and the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communication.

The sudden restrictions had alarmed Ukraine’s military and government officials this week, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions. The restrictions cut the connection to drones when they flew faster than 160 kph.

“Well, I don’t know if it was anybody, but it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” Trump said outside the White House before leaving for Georgia. “And from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been.”

Trump supporters at Georgia rally say the economy isn’t so bad

Some of the president’s most faithful supporters gathered in Dalton, Georgia, say they don’t understand the widespread frustrations over the economy. And where there are problems, they place elsewhere.

“I think it’s a heck of a lot better than it was under Joe Biden. That’s for sure. Or any other Democrat president for that matter,” argued Dianne Leveridge, who said voted for Trump three times would do it again if she could.

Leveridge acknowledged high gas prices but said “the oil’s moving” and that “the oil companies aren’t playing fair.”

Cindy Massengill, 67, said Trump is “doing as good as he can do with the fight he has to fight” against Democrats in Congress.

Republicans control the House and Senate.

Two more states say white powder sent to election office was not toxic

Alabama and Arizona officials said their election agencies were among several that received letter s with the substance this week. In both cases, the states said the substance was tested and found to be safe.

Wisconsin officials on Thursday said they had a similar finding after testing powder sent to them.

That doesn’t mean the incidents aren’t serious, said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes at a press conference Friday.

“Yesterday’s attack was not a harmless prank,” Fontes said. “It was an apparent attempt to disrupt our elections and intimidate the public servants who make them possible. And while we are grateful that the contents of the package were not harmful, the fear it caused was real. But, let me be absolutely clear: We will not be intimidated.”

Trump casts doubt on Zacharia’s future

The president, gaggling with reporters ahead of his departure to Georgia on Friday, said he planned to talk with his newly minted press secretary about whether she would stay in the job.

“I told Katie in my opinion she was treated very unfairly,” Trump said, noting that Zacharia has been “brutalized by the media.”

Trump said he told Zacharia that she didn’t have to do this job and that if he were her, he would reconsider the position.

“I just think the press has been very tough on Katie and I said, ‘there’s no reason you have to go through this,’ ” he said.

Georgia’s Collins still stands by Trump on the Iran war

The Republican congressman and Senate hopeful said he has no reservations about supporting Trump’s actions against Tehran, regardless of the economic fallout.

“I will never side with an Islamic regime terrorist that at the end of the day wants to kill us,” he said. “I’ve got kids and grandkids, and I don’t want them to grow up with this mess.”

Asked specifically if higher prices — on diesel, gasoline and other products — have been worth it, Collins responded, “The high price is our future. The high price is my kids being able to grow up. Those people were close to getting a nuclear weapon, and they would have used it.”

There is no public evidence for Collins’ assessment of Iran’s nuclear program, and it runs counter to those of the U.N. nuclear watchdog and U.S. intelligence agencies.

In Georgia, Senate candidate Mike Collins embraces Trump ahead of rally

The Republican congressman will need more than core Trump voters to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

But Collins said Friday in Dalton, Georgia, that he’s thrilled to have Trump in the state. Collins added a message for any Republican or conservative who thinks he should separate himself from Trump.

“I tell ’em they’re going to lose, because we’re going to win this race,” Collins said. “We’ve got the votes. They’re there. This state is red. We just gotta make sure that people understand it’s time to go vote.”

Collins acknowledged the obvious spending gap with Ossoff. The incumbent has raised more than $80 million and could surpassed the $100 million mark. Collins, meanwhile, has depended almost entirely on national Senate Republican PACs for his TV advertising.

“We knew we were always going to be outspent,” Collins said. “But I guarantee you one thing: Ain’t nobody gonna outwork me.”

Cuban diplomat blasts US effort to platform dissidents as status of negotiations remains uncertain

Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Havana’s diplomat to the U.N., told reporters that his American counterparts are planning to hold an event Monday at the world body under the guise of highlighting Cuba’s so-called oppression.

“It is a politically motivated exercise, organized in a questionable manner whose clear purpose is to target Cuba, promote a hostile narrative against our country, and use the premises of the United Nations to advance political agenda of the United States government against a sovereign member state,” he said in his remarks, while holding a copy of the U.S. invitation sent out to other member states.

The press statement reflects the heightened tensions between U.S. and Cuba as the Trump administration continues to impose a punishing oil blockade against the island country while officials mull whether to pursue regime change.

Katie Zacharia says she’s working to build trust when asked if she has Trump’s confidence

Asked on “Fox & Friends” if she had the president’s confidence after a rocky start to her job, including scrutiny over claims that she’s a lawyer, the new White House press secretary said: “I hope to be able to build the trust and confidence of everyone around me.”

She also said she wasn’t asked about passing the bar before getting the job. It’s unclear when the next press briefing will be, she said.

Zacharia was also asked about the administration’s investigation into Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and declined to answer questions, deferring to the Justice Department.

Kid Rock, Bill Maher, Stephen A. Smith join Trump for dinner at White House

Trump took time away from campaigning for the midterm elections to have dinner Thursday with Kid Rock, comedian Bill Maher and sports analyst Stephen A. Smith.

Speaking Friday on “Fox & Friends,” Kid Rock called the meal “epic” and said they had some laughs and tough conversations.

“One thing we all wholeheartedly agreed on is that socialism and communism has no place to have a foothold in our government,” he said.

The musician also said that the president seeking to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts — frequently referred to as DEI — could hurt donations to historically Black colleges and universities.

“I’ll go out on a limb and say, I’m speaking for President Trump and the administration, saying, no, no. Not only do we support, we want to encourage corporations to continue funding HBCUs and donating to them because we know how important education is,” he said.

Democrats hope a rematch can dislodge Trump loyalist Perry in Pennsylvania

Of all the Republican members of Congress who represent swing districts, there may be none as closely linked to Trump as Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.

Perry backed Trump’s signature tax-cutting laws in 2017 and 2025. He’s aggressively defended Trump’s war with Iran. And when Trump tried to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory in 2020, Perry sought to invalidate Pennsylvania’s electoral votes and elevate an acting attorney general who would act on conspiracy theories.

Now the question is whether Perry’s ties to Trump will be his undoing in a midterm election where the president is dramatically unpopular and Perry faces a second challenge from Democrat Janelle Stelson after he narrowly defeated the former local television anchor two years ago.

Asked if he needed to differentiate himself from an unpopular Trump to win, Perry brushed off the question.

“I speak for myself. I don’t speak for him, and he doesn’t speak for me,” Perry told The Associated Press.

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Trump wants the midterms to be all about himself. Judging by the ads, Democrats are happy to oblige

Trump says he wants voters to pretend that he’s on the ballot in this year’s midterm elections.

His rivals are doing their best to help his case.

Democratic candidates and their allies have spent more than $163 million since Sept. 1 on television advertising that mentions the Republican president, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from AdImpact, which charts media spending.

That includes airing ads that reference Trump on broadcast, cable and streaming nearly 180,000 times, the data shows. Republicans, meanwhile, have run ads that talk about the president just 16,000 times, at an estimated cost of $11 million, over the same period.

It’s a noticeable silence about the party’s dominant yet unpopular leader.

Many of the Democrats’ ads accuse Republican opponents of siding with the president over voters, particularly on issues like tariffs and the Iran war, which they blame for jacking up costs.

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New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia defends her legal background and short first briefing

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia on Thursday defended her legal background and justified her truncated inaugural briefing as she navigates a rocky first week as the president’s chief spokeswoman.

Zacharia sat down for an interview with conservative media. She told the conservative Human Events outlet that she did not have time to get fully prepared ahead of her first briefing on Tuesday and that it was always the plan to keep it short because Trump would field questions from journalists later that morning.

“It was absolutely my goal to keep it short, considering he is his own best spokesperson, and he would love -- and does love -- gaggling with the media as he goes to Marine One,” Zacharia said. “So I wanted to give ample deference and not barge into his time.”

The initial briefing materials were given to Zacharia on Monday evening, then completed Tuesday at 8 a.m., less than two hours before she would appear before the White House press corps. She had been up since 3 a.m. preparing, Zacharia said.

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Trump will rally Georgia Republicans despite party divisions in battleground state

Trump’s midterm campaign blitz arrives in Georgia on Friday for a rally with top Republican candidates in a state that has long been the epicenter of the president’s false claims about election fraud.

In Dalton, the population center of conservative northwest Georgia, Trump will appear with Senate candidate Mike Collins and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson as part of the White House effort to boost Republican enthusiasm in an election that could reshape the final years of Trump’s second presidency.