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Trump Says He's Considering Firing Kimberly Guilfoyle and is Not Happy; New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Holds First Briefing. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 13, 2026 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:30:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Taking this job and filling in after Karoline Leavitt left over the summer. And of course, she's coming in at a very critical time for the administration, for politics here in Washington as we are just a few weeks away from the midterm elections. And the president has been out on the campaign trail almost every day since then.

He's leaving the White House again in a few hours to make another campaign stop today and tomorrow. And so, obviously all of this is coming as we're seeing Republicans out in the country when it comes to the president's messaging, talking about gas prices, talking about inflation, talking about what's going to happen if Democrats do take control here in Washington in November. And so there's a lot to ask her about of course, when she comes out for this first press briefing.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely, talk about getting thrown in the middle of it when you list it all out like that for sure. And Kaitlan before I go to Brian -- because I think I probably have limited time with you being in the briefing room -- is Katie Zacharia known to be within, you know, in the Trump orbit? Because you said, I mean it was a bit of a surprise even to some White House officials that she was the one who was picked.

COLLINS: Yes, she certainly not -- was not extremely well known in the president's orbit. She was working for Trump media. She had conducted a brief stint at the Department of Homeland Security earlier in the president's term but lived in California and was commuting back and forth for that role. And so, she is not someone who was certainly not in the upper echelons of it but of course she is now.

And typically when Karoline Levitt was doing this job she would go and sit down and meet directly with the president before coming out to these briefings because that is often the toughest job of being Trump's spokesperson is speaking for a president who pretty often speaks for himself. And so of course typically those press secretaries under Trump have learned to go and sit down with him and talk to him before coming out to these briefings.

Similar things happened when President Biden was also in office. And so that is obviously something to watch because being the spokesperson for a president who often speaks on his own behalf is a challenging role to say the least.

BOLDUAN: To say the least and Brian this also comes at a challenging time in quite a moment of new tension between the White House, the president and the press.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, I would say the strains are more severe right now than they have been to this point during Trump's second time in office largely because of his so-called ban against CNN, MS NOW and Politico. We've all talked about the legal action that followed, the judges expected to rule in that case again later today. But the president wants the power to ban news outlets and to remove reporters like Kaitlan not just from the press briefing room but from the White House entirely.

He wants the power to reshape the press corps to remove real reporters and bring in propagandists. Katie Zacharia will either help him with that mission or maybe be a voice of reason and push back against that. You know Zacharia was a regular presence here on CNN talking with Elex Michaelson in LA. She's also been a regular on Fox and Newsmax.

She knows the value of television and of accessibility. But in recent days the Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into the five major networks over the way the TV pool operates. That's another incendiary action and it seems like another example where the process is actually the punishment because legal experts say that that antitrust probe is probably not going to go anywhere, it's not going to succeed for the government, but the process is the punishment.

Whether it's the Trump administration trying to challenge ABC and its parent company Disney, whether it's this new antitrust probe, oftentimes the process is the punishment as the president and his aides try to punish the press with whatever powers they have at the time. So I suspect she might be asked about the ban, she might also be asked about her personal comments, you know.

Let's think about this briefing room and its symbolic importance. There's some practical value to having reporters in the room asking questions even if the press secretary doesn't always answer forthrightly. But it's also symbolically really valuable.

It's a symbol that the American government is open for business and willing and able to take questions. It's a symbol of democracy that is broadcast live around the world. That's why I think it's important that there are regular briefings.

But Zacharia is coming in with a controversial past as our colleague Andrew Kaczynski reported yesterday. She has a history of accusing Democrats of pedophilia. There's other shocking and provocative comments on her social media feed.

I wonder if she'll be asked about some of those and whether she'll have to address her own personal standing as she takes this very important podium.

BOLDUAN: One would also think you know the White House has likely seen it. Does it matter to the president those past positions? Likely not.

It was interesting because Joe Lockhart who was press secretary under President Clinton was on. He was speaking with Sara earlier and he said that when he was taking on the job, he had been with working around the president for years at that point and still he took time and went to like national security school because of the sensitivity of what you could be asked about and need to speak to from that podium. But as we are learning and as Kaitlan was talking about, the president announced it last week and she's taking to the podium today.

I mean it's just another sign of just how things have changed so much.

[09:35:00]

STELTER: It's much more of an audience of one dynamic and we've learned that about President Trump in his first term in office and again in his second term. So it's much more about the audience of one. There's a really interesting report in Political Playbook this morning that reads true to me about Zacharia timing, her TV appearances on Fox to try to reach the president as she was auditioning for this job. I'm sure she's not the only person to think that way but that all reflects this audience of one mentality.

The president in this final stretch ahead of the midterms with his approval ratings near record lows, he wants someone out there making the case for him and that might result in more frequent briefings. The more important question, the question we should all pay more attention to, is about the credibility of the press secretary, whether that's Karoline Leavitt or now Katie Zacharia. Will her answers be credible?

Will they be accurate? Can they be trusted? Can they be vetted?

That's something that I know CNN other outlets will certainly pay attention to.

BOLDUAN: And the continued questions of access within the White House and does that does the White House press secretary serve as an advocate for that? We'll see. It's good to see you, Brian.

Thank you so much for keeping a very close eye. As you can see everyone's sitting in the briefing room waiting for it to begin. We're going to continue to monitor this and bring it to you when it starts.

We'll be right back.

[09:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, that is a live look at the White House Press Briefing Room, where any second, the new White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia, will give her first briefing as Press Secretary. She will take questions. We will bring you there live when it gets underway.

I promise. First, though, let's go to Sara. SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, John. This morning, President Trump's new Press Secretary will likely have to answer questions in her first press briefing about allegations against the Greece ambassador. That will likely come up today after the President said that he was not happy with Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Now, sources tell CNN a State Department watchdog is investigating Guilfoyle amid the allegations of misconduct. It comes in the wake of the allegations from MAGA donor, Eric Deters, that she pleaded with him to pay off a more than $100,000 Amex credit card bill before her confirmation hearing in exchange for access to the administration.

Guilfoyle has denied the allegations. Joining me now is CNN political commentator and affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. She is also a former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary.

Look, can you see any legitimate reason for a U.S. ambassador to ask for something like that? We have seen text messages that he says she sent to him asking him to kind of keep things quiet, but to pay off her credit card.

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, I really can't. I mean, there's no circumstance where this would be OK by any government official, let alone the ambassador. And I think this is a really embarrassing moment for the president, for this administration.

I mean, the text show the receipts of exactly what she was asking for, begging for her Amex card to be paid off. So it's nothing short of embarrassing. But it's also like this administration is for sale.

I mean, it is a classic pay to play. I am going to give you access to the president, to Trump administration officials if you give me money in exchange. And that's just not how our senior government officials or representatives overseas should behave in any way.

And so for the press secretary's first day to be coming out, she's going to really have to answer these questions. And it's always hard being behind the podium and being on defense. You have to take a lot of shots for the president, for the administration, and you have to defend its policies.

But this is one of those missteps that so could have been avoided. And it's just an embarrassing moment for the president as we get closer to the midterms, as he's about to go out again and campaign on the road in Alaska today.

SIDNER: And look, he and his family have also been accused of corruption themselves. And some people may see this as sort of a blatant issue here. But give us some sense of why this could be dangerous for a sitting U.S. ambassador to first be accused of this, or if she took part in it, why this is such an issue. And it happened, it all broke, while the U.S. Secretary of State was visiting Greece.

SINGH: Well, again, completely embarrassing. I mean, stepped on Secretary Marco Rubio's trip to the region. He had a big speech there, and of course he was being asked these questions.

But I will say it also violates the Foreign Gifts Act. I mean, when I was in the Biden administration, we couldn't accept gifts that were over $50 because you don't want to have the look or presumed look of being able to be influenced by a foreign government or a foreign official. And so for, you know, Kimberly Guilfoyle to not only accept these gifts, it's a violation of the oath that she took when she came into office.

But it is a violation of that act that Congress passed so many decades ago. And so I think the president is now going to really have to wrestle with, does he ultimately fire her? And I think that's questions that the press secretary are going to have to answer today.

SIDNER: All right, we are going to go now live to the briefing where we're hearing for the first time from the new press secretary.

KATIE ZACHARIA, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I am so honored to work for President Trump and the American people as the new White House Press Secretary. I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me.

[09:45:00]

I have wanted to work for him for a very long time. I'm looking forward to working with each of you as well, especially as we are in the middle of the midterm blitz with energy and excitement never seen before in the history of midterms, thanks to President Trump. Just look no further than last night in Youngstown, Ohio, where President Trump delivered another blockbuster rally out on the trail.

The arena was overflowing with enthusiasm as thousands came out to support President Trump, as well as special guest Jake Paul and football legend Jon Gruden. The president also announced the Department of War has officially selected Cleveland, Ohio, as the new home for the U.S. Navy's submarine component repair center. This massive 46,000 square foot facility will manufacture, repair, and maintain key parts for virtually all new and existing submarines. This is historic.

Everyday Americans are showing up in droves to attend these rallies because of President Trump's America First agenda of lower taxes, higher wages, and one of my favorite, secure borders. But it doesn't stop there. President Trump is planning to hold rallies in Alaska, Arizona, Montana, where I will be with him, and Georgia, building off of the incredible momentum generated over the last several days from his stops in Tennessee, New York, Texas, and Nebraska. He is an energetic president.

Attendance is at record highs as enthusiastic, hardworking Americans are lining up and packing arenas to support President Trump and Republicans. It's not hard to see why. President Trump is fighting and delivering for American workers every minute of every day.

Real wages are up 1.2 percent since President Trump took office, with average annual earnings outpacing inflation by $800. Under Biden, real wages fell nearly 4 percent, with the average private sector worker's annual purchasing power declining by nearly $3,000 annually. President Trump is the first president in modern history to actually lower prescription drug prices, delivering the biggest drop in 63 years.

President Trump has created more than 1 million private sector jobs in his second term, including nearly 112,000 factory construction jobs and 72,000 manufacturing jobs this year alone. And thanks to President Trump, we are once again bringing back American energy dominance because energy security is national security. President Trump secured the biggest oil deal in world history, delivering the U.S. majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela. He had a historic one-day war, and now we have a booming economy and a great relationship with Venezuela.

The U.S. achieved record domestic oil and gas production in 2025 and record crude and petroleum product exports in 2026. Building off of his historic boom in energy production in the first 15 months of this administration, we have secured trillions of dollars in new investments -- trillions of dollars -- including $1.4 trillion from the United Arab Emirates, $600 billion from Apple, and $340 billion from Amazon. No other president could have gotten these deals done.

Just weeks ago, President Trump announced that Mesabi Metallics will build a massive $15 billion steel complex in Iowa, the largest steel plant ever built in the United States.

[09:50:00]

This facility, a historic facility, will create 1,750 new permanent jobs and support up to 6,000 construction jobs and generate an estimated $95 billion in economic output.

In addition, President Trump and Anduril announced Arsenal 2, the biggest American shipyard push since World War II in Maryland. This new facility will create about 3,100 direct jobs and support more than 11,000 indirect jobs. President Trump also unveiled a South Korea energy investment package of up to $200 billion in the United States.

This is an amazing deal. This includes as much as $120 billion to build eight large-scale nuclear power plants, something we've needed as the United States and something President Trump promised on the campaign trail, and something President Trump is delivering on, just like he delivers on every promise. In addition to that, we will be -- there is $54 billion tied to the Alaska LNG pipeline and terminal to service the Pacific Rim and sell fuel to our allies, as well as $22.3 billion for a 6-gigawatt natural gas power facility in Texas. Not only is the Trump administration bringing in trillions of dollars to invest throughout the country, but we are also protecting your tax dollars by addressing fraud head-on.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has uncovered over $260 billion of fraud, stopped $72 billion of fraud annually through administrative actions, and recovered $58.9 billion through indictments, settlements, and civil monetary penalties. Above all, President Trump is working to secure the Western Hemisphere, for centuries to come. President Trump signed an unprecedented agreement giving the United

States lasting control over security interests in Greenland. President Trump has used the power of tariffs to stop China from producing fentanyl precursor chemicals. The fentanyl killed many of our citizens, and he is hard at work in ensuring that that won't happen.

And here at home, fentanyl trafficking across the southern border is down 56 percent, and fentanyl-linked deaths plunged 22 percent in a single year because of President Trump. This is a president, an administration that is looking out for you, the American people, and I'm thrilled to officially be part of this incredible journey together. And with that, I will take your questions.

Here in our new media seat, we have Nick Gilbertson from Breitbart.

NICK GILBERTSON, BREITBART WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Katie. Welcome to the briefing room, and congrats on the new position. One of the things that your predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, did is open this room up to more voices, not less.

At Breitbart, that's something our founder, Andrew Breitbart, certainly believed in. And whether that's adding this new media seat, adding new media voices to the pool, can you tell us what you plan to do to continue to ensure that new media voices continue to be heard here at the White House?

ZACHARIA: Yes, well, firstly, my predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, did an incredible job, and I completely agree with the choice of new media seat. We are absolutely going to keep it, and we're going to expand on it to the extent possible. We love new media, and we want to be able to embrace it.

GILBERTSON: Absolutely. And then just to follow up, too, you did touch on presidential travel. The president's been all over the place, and you kind of laid out his schedule over the next couple days, but is it only going to intensify here in the next couple of weeks up to midterms?

ZACHARIA: Absolutely. You can expect more of the midterm blitz. Just now, we've added Kentucky, and we have a few other stops as he goes down to Florida.

So it'll be Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida.

ZACHARIA: We will take Peter Doocy.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Katie. Nice to meet you. You're starting as White House press secretary three weeks before a midterm cycle that President Trump himself says will be very tough for Republicans.

Is your job, just to speak about White House matters, or is it to make things less tough for Republicans in the midterms?

ZACHARIA: Well, Peter, I get to do what I was doing on the outside already, which was hoping to amplify, multiply, and expand upon President Trump's incredible agenda for the American people.

[09:55:00]

And what I hope to do in this position is to take that into an official capacity and only build on, only amplify, and only multiply, to the extent possible, all of the wins he's making for Americans. For Americans to understand how much has changed in this brief period of time, what he's been able to accomplish, my goal is to be able to communicate that in complete tandem with the President, as he is his own best spokesperson and will absolutely be leading the way with that.

DOOCY: And I want to ask you a policy question. Has the U.S. stopped sharing intel with Ukraine?

ZACHARIA: I'll have to get back to you on that.

Elina Shirazi.

ELINA SHIRAZI, NEWSNATION WASHINGTON DC CORRESPONDENT: Kate, hi. Congrats on the job.

ZACHARIA: Thank you.

SHIRAZI: First of all, and I have two questions for you if I can. First of all, on Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Daily Mail has been reporting on her since last year. The President said yesterday to reporters that he is considering firing her.

Do you know a timeline for that? And also, potentially, who could be on the short list to replace her if he does?

ZACHARIA: We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.

SHIRAZI: OK. Second question for you, if I may, a personal question. Your family is in California, your husband, you have four children.

I'm wondering how you manage -- how are you going to manage that? Karoline Levitt left because she wanted to spend more time with her family. And also, did she give you any advice on how to handle this job and the people in this room?

ZACHARIA: Well, first of all, I want to give my husband an amazing shoutout. We have four kids, ranging from 12, 10, 8, and 6. Three of them are boys, so we have a handful.

And I adore my family. I love them. They are my priority.

I love being with my kids. The idea of not spending evenings with my kids is completely unacceptable. So my President -- or excuse me, my husband -- that's a good one -- my husband is out here for the week because we have two birthdays in our family, and we are very, very protective of celebrating birthdays as a family.

So he brought the entire crew out here. Bless him. It's a lot. And we will be moving out here. And as far as your second question is, yes, Karoline has been an incredible support. She gave me great and wonderful feedback on how to balance.

I think this job is not one you necessarily balance. And I would love to share that in my career, I stayed home with my kids from 2014 to 2020, in the process of having them. And then when I started working again, I was able to integrate them into my life.

There are many photos of which are not public of the kids and I at Fox Bureau, where they are sitting with me in the pod before a hit. So I intend to, to the extent possible, include my family, include my kids in my work. Though my work will be demanding, they will always be a priority.

And President Trump is the most family-friendly president we've ever had. He has hired more women with families. And the fact that he knew I had four kids and he knew that this job would be demanding and still placed his trust in me shows that I know I'm capable of being able to step up to that.

So thank you for that question. In fact, I am going to end it because President Trump is heading out to Marine One for our historic trip to Alaska. And we can ask him all of the questions out there.

So thank you so much.

To the question on -- the president will be back on Thursday. And that's what I will answer. I'll leave it there. He will answer those questions out in Marine One.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown. And we've just been watching the first press briefing over at the White House with the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia.

And she did make some news. She says they have now asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign. That's big news.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that's big news. That was one of the top questions coming into this press briefing, whether President Trump would fire her or ask her to resign. He had made it clear he was unhappy with the reports about her.

And now we know from this new White House press secretary that, in fact, the White House has asked her to resign. In terms of what her response is to that, we still don't have an answer to that, because this was a pretty brief press briefing. Well, typically, they take more questions.

But, of course, this is her first day on the job after just being announced a few days ago that she was hired. And just -- Joe Lockhart was on earlier. He was a former White House press secretary.

He said that he spent so much time with the president taking courses on national security to prepare for the job. But for Katie Zacharia, she got it a few days ago, and then she's taken to the podium just today.

BLITZER: Our chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, is joining us right now to CNN.