Katie Zacharia is facing another wave of scrutiny just days after her brief, five-day stint as White House press secretary ended, this time over photographs with Donald Trump that may have revealed details considered sensitive.
Zacharia assumed the press secretary position on Monday, but by Friday she had been asked to step down. Her departure followed a widely criticized first press briefing, along with reports that she had not passed the bar exam despite referring to herself as an attorney.
On the day she left the administration, Zacharia posted an enthusiastic tribute to Trump on social media. One image showed her beside the president at his desk in the Oval Office.
A map on the desk had been noticeably blurred. In a separate photograph shared Saturday, Zacharia appeared with her family and Trump—but the map was no longer visible, leading viewers to suspect it had been digitally removed.
The altered images quickly prompted online speculation. While the blurred map raised questions on its own, its apparent removal from the second photograph intensified debate over what it showed and why it had been concealed.
Some observers said the outline visible through the blur appeared to match East Potomac Park in Washington, DC. The site has drawn attention as part of Trump’s broader interest in changing federal properties and prominent landmarks in the nation’s capital.
In late June, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he wanted to renovate East Potomac Park’s “dilapidated, worn out, and very dangerous and outdated Golf Course.” The proposal is now facing a legal challenge from the DC Preservation League.
The administration has maintained that no final golf course design has been approved. Critics, however, argue that the map seen on Trump’s desk could suggest that more detailed renovation plans already exist.
Katie Zacharia’s photograph with Donald Trump drew attention to the blurred map visible on the president’s desk. Some viewers said its outline resembled East Potomac Park in Washington, DC
In a second image shared by Zacharia, the map no longer appeared in the frame, prompting questions about why it had been digitally removed if it contained nothing significant
Zacharia’s tenure as White House press secretary lasted only five days and followed a widely criticized first briefing. She is shown during that appearance
Save East Po, an advocacy group opposing the proposed renovation, reposted Zacharia’s image Friday. “FYI to anyone paying attention – that blurred out map on the PRESIDENT’S DESK is East Potomac Park,” the group wrote.
In a second post featuring the edited photograph, the organization added: “Nothing says ‘we have no plan’ like a photo of plan-shaped map on the President’s desk, followed by a second photo where that map has been digitally removed.”
Alex Rosen, founder of Save East Po, told The Washington Post that features visible in the blurred image appeared similar to elements in renovation renderings that had previously circulated.
The controversy comes as the legal battle over the park continues. Earlier this week, US District Judge Ana Reyes ordered the National Park Service to stop removing additional trees from East Potomac Park after hundreds had already been cut down.
Attorneys for the Trump administration have argued that the tree removal was unrelated to the president’s proposed golf course renovation. Instead, they said, the work was connected to a 2019 effort to restore the course to its original layout.
Reyes, who is overseeing the lawsuit challenging the project, appeared unconvinced by that explanation in a memorandum issued Tuesday.
“It is a coincidence, the Government seems to suggest, that DOI cut down hundreds of trees at the Course weeks after the President asked DOI to cut down trees at the Course, and not, say, any other time in the last seven years,” the judge wrote.
Opponents of the East Potomac Park project view the blurred map as possible evidence that the administration intends to continue pursuing the renovation despite the court proceedings and public controversy.
The advocacy group fighting the East Potomac Park renovation said the blurred image appeared consistent with earlier renderings of the proposed project. The map and park are shown side by side
The National Park Service felled hundreds of trees at the park’s golf course, claiming the work was part of a 2019 plan. A federal judge said she was suspicious of the timing
An advocacy group against the park’s renovation highlighted the map on Trump’s desk and said it indicated he has full plans for the renovation despite claiming the contrary
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung scoffed at those concerns in a statement to the Washington Post that said the outlet was ‘breathlessly obsessing over an innocuous photo’ and suffering from ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome.’
Zacharia similarly told the Daily Mail: ‘It is only fitting that the Daily Mail would turn a very sweet picture into something controversial.’
Trump addressed his goal to renovate East Potomac Park in a Truth Social post on Sunday morning. It is unclear whether the announcement was related to the scrutiny surrounding Zacharia’s posts.
‘Doug Burgum, and the United States Department of the Interior, is very excited about the new Development of a Great Golf Course at the site of the old East Potomac Golf Links. We would like to thank Tom Fazio for his initial conceptual design and ideas, coupled with those of others from within the Golf World and the Department of the Interior,’ the president wrote.
‘Any variance or changes will be made, depending on site conditions, by the Experts in Parks and Recreation, whose experience and knowledge in Seawalls, Landscaping, and Design are second to none.’
Critics have pointed to Trump’s history of pushing through major changes to Washington DC without oversight and have said they are concerned that the park is just the latest example.
The president demolished the White House East Wing to build a ballroom without Congressional approval, advanced plans for a 250-foot arch on Columbia Island without final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission and added his name to the Kennedy Center.
All of those initiatives faced legal challenges. The Supreme Court ruled that construction of the White House ballroom can temporarily move forward, but the other two plans are currently in limbo.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment.