Former White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia has finally opened up after her recent exit from the position, indicating that the media made her job quite challenging during her short stay at the White House.
Her first briefing on October 13 was met with immediate criticism, particularly regarding her heavy use of notes and the limited number of questions she took. Just a few days later, tensions grew as reporters began to question her legal qualifications after she was identified as an attorney.
Zacharia later revealed that she had never passed the bar exam.
In her first comments since leaving the White House after only five days, Zacharia mentioned to Newsmax that her departure was mainly due to being perceived as an “outsider” in Washington.
“The media does not like outsiders and Washington, D.C., does not like outsiders,” she said. “The media and all of Washington made it very difficult for me to do the job I set out to do.”
She also hinted that she might have remained in the role had she not appeared on “Fox & Friends” and Sean Hannity’s show shortly before her departure, where Hannity questioned her qualifications.
“I would hope so, and I think it’s very likely, Rob,” she told host Rob Finnerty, “but I can’t know for sure what would have happened otherwise. I’m just as perplexed about what happened, specifically with Sean Hannity.”
Zacharia reflected on her previous amiable rapport with Hannity, who had previously reached out about a potential role for her as a street correspondent in California.
“I was not prepared for the hostility I received,” she emphasized.
Even though she’s no longer in the role of press secretary, Zacharia expressed her willingness to support President Donald Trump’s administration if asked.
“Absolutely. I would do so in a heartbeat,” she replied when asked if she would work for Trump again. “I don’t know if I’d say I want the old job back, though. If the president asked, as he did before, I would take it, Rob.”
In a previous interview with Hannity before her exit, he questioned her about the short length of her first press conference. She explained that extensive travel and limited preparation time before the conference led to the brevity, insisting she still embraced the challenging role.
During that same conversation, amid public confusion over her qualifications, Hannity asked whether she had passed the bar exam. She admitted that she failed it in 2011, noting that she subsequently worked as a full-time associate at a law firm in China after moving there with her husband.
Although she mentioned that she verified with officials before calling herself a “lawyer,” as opposed to an “attorney,” Hannity pointed out that most people consider the terms to be similar. This led to scrutiny regarding whether she misrepresented her qualifications.
Moreover, Zacharia had previously claimed to have passed the bar exam in China, a claim that isn’t applicable to foreign citizens. She later clarified that she had simply misunderstood the question.
