Ex White House press secretary Zacharia says she was not prepared for ‘hostility’ in viral interview

Katie Zacharia, who lasted only five days as White House press secretary, says she was blindsided by the tone of a Fox News interview that aired the day before she lost the job. Speaking to Rob Finnerty on Newsmax, she said she and Sean Hannity had long enjoyed a warm relationship, and that he had publicly defended her on Tuesday, October 13th. She said she never expected him to question her educational background, and that she was unprepared for the hostility. Hannity pressed her on whether she had passed the bar exam, after she repeatedly called herself a lawyer despite having failed it. She unfollowed him on social media afterward. Journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X that Hannity was moving in for the kill, according to The Independent.

Her lone press briefing had already drawn widespread mockery. President Donald Trump, she said, was the one who urged her to reconsider, telling her she need not continue if she did not wish to. She told Finnerty she would work for Trump again immediately, though she was unsure she wanted her old post back. She named Maria Bartiromo as a strong possible successor, praising her as tough and loyal.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →