Katie Zacharia Photo Sparks Controversy Amid Trump Admin’s D.C. Golf Course Plans

Katie Zacharia may have served only five days as White House press secretary, but she certainly made an impression in that short time, including with her farewell message.

On Friday (October 16), the ousted administration official shared two photos featuring herself with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. “President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man,” she wrote. “It was an honor to work for him.”

However, it wasn’t Zacharia’s message that drew attention but rather the blurred-out photo of a map sitting on Trump’s desk. Suspicion grew on Saturday (October 17) when Zacharia shared another photo with the president, this time with the map removed. Digital traces showed the image had been altered, including to the book the map was sitting on.

President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to.

It was an honor to work for him. https://t.co/Tp4NizrhE2

— Katie Zacharia (@KatieZacharia) October 17, 2026

Social media sleuths and local advocacy groups noted that the map appeared to show East Potomac Park, a man-made island in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., home to the historic East Potomac Golf Course.

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. It was an unforgettable honor. https://t.co/Ng3ty8vLpu

— Katie Zacharia (@KatieZacharia) October 17, 2026

The golf course has been in the news recently after controversial government plans led to the cutting of hundreds of trees. Last week, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes put a temporary pause on the administration’s efforts to remove the trees after the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers filed an emergency motion.

Reyes also ordered Kevin Griess, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, to tell her who gave the order for the tree removal.

The filing claimed the order to remove the trees stems from Trump’s plan to turn the public course into a championship-style venue. Griess denied the claims, saying the work “is not a renovation or redesign of the Golf Course.”

So there we have it. Katie Zacharia first blurred out and then Photoshopped out entirely Donald Trump’s grand plans for his swish new golf club in East Potomac Park

This will be the subject of a court showdown tomorrow morning

The White House never replied to my questions about whether Zacharia was ordered to remove this from the pictures, or if someone did it for her

— Poppy Wood (@poppyeh) October 18, 2026

However, on Sunday (October 18), Trump himself announced plans to close and renovate the golf course. “I am pleased to announce that the Department of the Interior… has developed a plan to build a World Class Championship Golf Course on the site of the current East Potomac Golf Links, located in Washington, D.C,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

“When completed, it will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup,” he added, noting that the project will “create many jobs” and have a “tremendously positive Economic Development impact on Washington, D.C.”

Trump described the current course “old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect.” He continued, “It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall.”

“When the East Potomac Course was originally built, it was famous for no trees, with views of Washington, D.C., for all to see, but now, it is completely overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe,” the president added.

He announced that the course will close for restoration on November 15 and reopen in approximately 15 months.

“The new Course will be opened in approximately 15 months. The United States Golf Association, PGA of America, and the PGA Tour have already been notified that they will soon have one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World to put on their list of great places to play, and hold Major Events,” he concluded.