Fired Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Blames Media and Washington, Says Hannity Interview Perplexed Her

Katie Zacharia, who was fired as White House press secretary after about one week, said in her first interview since leaving that the media and Washington made it hard for her to do the job. Appearing Tuesday on Newsmax's Finnerty, she said Washington does not like outsiders and that critics would not let her do her job, which she described as focusing on President Donald Trump. She also said she was "perplexed" by her October 15 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, who questioned her about her legal credentials, including her claim to be a lawyer though she never passed the bar exam.

The Daily Mail reported that the interview followed a first press briefing that lasted about 15 minutes with three questions. Newsmax host Rob Finnerty suggested someone at the White House may have given Hannity the green light to press her; the Daily Mail said Fox News and Hannity have denied that. Two days earlier, Hannity had said on air that Zacharia was being mocked and attacked. In a New York Post essay on Monday, Zacharia wrote that she is guided by a line from Trump's 1997 book, "The Art of the Comeback": never quit and always hit back. She also wrote that the president deserves a press corps that reports his results straight.

Left-leaning outlets The New Republic and HuffPost treat her comments mockingly. The New Republic casts the Newsmax interview as blame-shifting, listing her disputed legal credentials, the poorly received briefing and the Hannity appearance. HuffPost focuses on the New York Post essay, pairing her Trump quote with other excerpts from the book. The right-leaning Daily Mail is more straightforward. It leads with her "perplexed" reaction and the "hostile" interview, adds her age, the briefing details, Hannity's earlier defense of her and the denials from Fox and Hannity. Both sides cite Finnerty's suggestion and her credentials, but the left stresses her excuses and Trump loyalty, while the Daily Mail stresses the Hannity episode. TMZ, in a short item, mostly matches the Daily Mail's focus on her blaming the media.