New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia holds her first press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 13, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Katie Zacharia is out as White House press secretary, but her Oval Office photos keep getting her into trouble. Critics say her latest picture is missing something they noticed in the last one, and claims of a cover-up are mounting.
On Friday, a blurry map on President Donald Trump’s desk in Zacharia’s farewell photo drew attention online. People who know Washington said it showed Hains Point and East Potomac Park, where Trump wants to rebuild a century-old public golf course. That plan is now the subject of a federal lawsuit.
On Saturday, Zacharia posted another photo from the Oval Office. It shows her family gathered around Trump at the Resolute Desk.
“Thank you, President Trump, for hosting my family and me in the Oval Office and for the generous gifts you gave my children on my son’s birthday,” she wrote. “It was an unforgettable honor.”
The same stack of blue binders sits on the desk. This time, there’s no map on top of it.
The Washington Post reported that Zacharia posted “a pair of doctored photos of Trump’s desk.” Advocates told the paper the edits were meant to hide a map of East Potomac Park ahead of a court hearing on Monday.
“A federal judge has told Trump admin to explain who ordered officials to cut down hundreds of trees in the park last week,” Post White House reporter Dan Diamond wrote on X. “Officials have said it’s not related to Trump’s interest in park — which could be complicated if map is on his desk.”
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes temporarily blocked further tree cutting at the course on Tuesday, after crews had already removed about 430 trees. The administration has argued in court that the cutting carries out a 2019 landscape report and has nothing to do with Trump’s redesign.
Poppy Wood, U.S. correspondent for Britain’s Telegraph, noticed the change too.
“First Katie Zacharia blurred out the map on Donald Trump’s desk, now she appears to have Photoshopped the map out altogether,” Wood wrote. “What is on the map that she doesn’t want people to see?”
Navy veteran and political commentator Travis Akers, who had said Friday’s photo might help the plaintiffs, replied directly to Zacharia: “No map this time, huh?”
The popular anonymous X account The Rubber Duck posted the two photos side by side with red circles around the binders. “Why was the map erased?” it asked.
Some people focused on the “generous gifts.” Author and commentator Brittany Belle joked that Trump is “literally paying her off to get rid of her just like Stormy Daniels.”
Joe Ceraulo, a sports radio host with CBS Sports and The Fan LA, pointed out how often Zacharia has been posting since she was fired.
“The number of posts thanking him is starting to outnumber days actually spent on the job,” he wrote.
The White House hasn’t explained what the map shows or why it’s missing from the new photo.
First Katie Zacharia blurred out the map on Donald Trump’s desk, now she appears to have Photoshopped the map out altogether…What is on the map that she doesn’t want people to see?Some speculating it is the East Potomac, over which Trump is locked in a legal battle regarding his plans to build a new golf course
— Poppy Wood (@poppyeh) October 17, 2026
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