Sweden

Stockholm, October 16, 2026. The Swedish press is treating Katie Zacharia's eviction as a record and a fiasco for which Donald Trump is responsible. Aftonbladet has published a day-by-day chronology: appointed on Friday, October 9, took office on Monday, October 12, and left on Friday, October 16, after five working days. Expressen recalls that the previous record was held by Anthony Scaramucci, who was ousted after eleven days in 2017, and lists the tenure of Trump's other spokespersons: Sean Spicer 182 days, Sarah Huckabee Sanders 710, and Karoline Leavitt 584 until August 27, 2026.

The press conference on Tuesday, October 13, which lasted 14 minutes and included three questions, is seen as the turning point. Svenska Dagbladet describes it as "osäkert, nervöst" (hesitant, nervous); an anonymous source cited by MS Now warned that she needed to improve quickly, or she would beat Scaramucci's record. Expressen notes that she was mocked for reading from her notes and referring to the president as her "husband," and quotes Jen Psaki, who said the session was essentially a Saturday Night Live sketch. Aftonbladet reports her defense on Thursday, October 15: she claimed she had only received the documents on Monday evening.

The second part of the story concerns her title of lawyer. Expressen reports that Zacharia, a graduate of Pepperdine, failed the bar exam in 2011, when she was about to leave for China with her husband, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. She told Jack Posobiec that she had never claimed to be a lawyer and presented herself as a legal expert. Aftonbladet notes that she admitted to Sean Hannity on Fox News that she had not passed the exam.

On Friday, Trump stated that the media had treated her "extremely badly" and that he had told her, "You should reconsider." Expressen specifies that the New York Times and Fox News are reporting that she was fired, which the White House has confirmed; DN writes that she confirmed it to the BBC. In his column, DN's correspondent in New York, Ingmar Nevéus, judges that Trump "has only himself to blame": she "has clearly lied" about her qualifications, while male colleagues remain in their posts despite more serious mistakes. The Swedish articles provided do not mention Ukraine or Beijing's reaction.