Former Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Blames Media in Newsmax and Piers Morgan Interviews

Katie Zacharia, who left her post as White House press secretary after about five days, said in a Newsmax interview Tuesday that the media and Washington made it too hard for her to do the job. Speaking with host Rob Finnerty, she said both dislike outsiders and would not let her focus on President Donald Trump. She said she was puzzled by her treatment and would likely still hold the job had she skipped Sean Hannity's interview. Her exit followed a rocky first press briefing and Fox interviews about her legal credentials. She holds a law degree but has not passed the bar, and she had called herself a lawyer rather than an attorney. Trump said he hoped she would consider leaving. In an interview with Piers Morgan, released Wednesday, Morgan accused her of sounding like a robot as she dodged questions about her departure.

Townhall (right) frames her as proving why she could not last, leading with the five-day tenure, what it calls untruthfulness about her résumé, her China-related defense, and Trump's loss of confidence. It adds that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles offered support and did not book the Fox interviews, and says the new interviews likely displeased the White House. The New Republic (left) mocks her as blaming "meanies" and calls her credentials phony and her briefing a train wreck. It also highlights Finnerty's suggestion that the Hannity interview was set up, perhaps with White House approval. Both sides cover the short tenure, the credentials dispute, the Hannity interview and her Newsmax remarks. They differ on tone and sourcing: Townhall includes the Wiles clarification, while The New Republic centers her blame-shifting. The Hill, in the alternative category, covers the Morgan clash.