A surprisingly tough interview on Fox News has prompted one media reporter to wonder whether President Donald Trump had a hand in the downfall of his embattled White House press secretary.
Media journalist Justin Baragona raised the possibility Friday after Sean Hannity grilled Katie Zacharia over her disastrous first press briefing, which lasted just 14 minutes.
“The question now that Zacharia is gone is -- did Trump order Hannity to deliver the Code Red?” Baragona wrote Friday on X. He did not offer evidence for the theory.
The theory followed an unusually confrontational Thursday night interview in which Hannity called her first briefing “widely panned” and repeatedly pressed her about her legal credentials.
Baragona suggested the exchange marked a turning point.
“You can see the exact moment she realized it wasn’t gonna be the typical Hannity love fest,” he wrote. “Her heart immediately sunk, as she knew it was over for her.”
Hannity challenged Zacharia over her failure to pass the bar exam and her use of the title “attorney,” confronting her with a report that she had shared at least 15 social media posts describing her that way. Zacharia said they were retweets.
“Why get into this long, drawn-out definition between the difference between a lawyer and an attorney?” Hannity asked.
Trump acknowledged the interview the next day. “She was on Sean Hannity last night and Sean was a little bit tough,” he told reporters.
Zacharia was fired Friday, according to CNN, after Trump said he had told her to “reconsider” the job.
“I just want her to be happy,” Trump said.
The question now that Zacharia is gone is -- did Trump order Hannity to deliver the Code Red?
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 16, 2026