New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia says the “legacy media” is making her an unnecessary subject of conversation. She made the comments when asked about questions she received from Fox News’ Sean Hannity. During Friday’s Fox & Friends, Ainsley Earhardt asked Zacharia about the interview.
Hannity grilled Zacharia on her inaugural press conference and the mounting questions about whether she’s passed the U.S. bar exam. Multiple media outlets have questioned the validity of Zacharia’s credentials.
A Wall Street Journal exclusive reports that Zacharia allegedly never passed the bar exam, despite her referring to herself as a lawyer in public appearances. The report states that she failed the California bar exam before relocating to Beijing, where she joined Chinese law firm Zhong Lun Law Firm as an associate on its international practice team. During her tenure, other lawyers reportedly told her that her prior experience qualified her to provide legal analysis.
“I was watching your interview last night on Sean’s show, and God bless you because it’s — other than the president, I think it would be the hardest job because you have to know all the facts, you have to speak off the cuff, and you were just thrown into this role. Is there anything that you would say differently or clarify differently on Sean’s interview last night or the White House press briefing, your first briefing, anything you would do differently?” Earhardt asked Zacharia.
Zacharia didn’t mince words in her response. She says the focus on her and her credentials is a way to deflect from the actual issues. “You know, I’m just so grateful to be here, and I’m really looking forward to being an asset to President Trump and focusing on what he’s doing for the American people,” she said. “And the legacy media wants to put the focus and attention to me because they want to be distracted; they want to be distracted from the major wins that President Trump is making for America. So I’m looking forward to the next week. It is a blitz week. He is traveling almost every single day for huge packed rallies and that is what I’m looking forward to.”
When asked whether she is confident in her ability to perform well under such intense pressure, she says she believes she will earn the confidence of the president and her colleagues over time.
“I’m standing here, and I was able to travel with him through all of the midterm convention — or, excuse me — the midterm rallies, and I hope to be able to build the trust and confidence of everyone around me,” she said.