President Donald Trump’s new White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia, had an awkward response when a reporter asked a seemingly simple question about her legal credentials.
The answer raised eyebrows, and it wasn’t the only moment from her first day on the job that had people talking.
The 41-year-old lawyer had barely stepped into the spotlight before facing scrutiny over her background and her ability to handle one of the White House’s toughest jobs.
During a press gaggle with Trump on the South Lawn, a reporter asked Zacharia where she passed the bar exam.
“When I moved to China,” she said.
Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government. She also graduated from the university’s Caruso School of Law. However, it’s unclear whether she passed the bar exam.
A White House official told The Hill that she moved to China with her husband after graduating due to his job at a U.S. private equity firm while she worked on international transaction law.
LinkedIn shows she has her JD from Pepperdine and worked as an associate at the Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing, China, from August 2011 to June 2013.
Zacharia told NewsNation, which asked for clarification, “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”
The China exchange came after Zacharia delivered her first White House press briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and critics said it was tough to watch.
During the briefing, she stiffly read from a prepared statement. She heaped praise on Trump and immediately started gaslighting Americans, quickly following in former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s footsteps.
“I am so honored to work for President Trump,” said the former communications adviser for Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Trump’s Truth Social platform.
“I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me,” the 41-year-old gushed before the gaslighting began.
“I’m looking forward to working with each of you as well, especially as we are in the middle of the midterm blitz with energy and excitement never since before in the history of midterms thanks to President Trump,” she falsely stated, but she wasn’t done.
“Attendance is at record highs as enthusiastic, hard-working Americans are lining up and packing arenas to support President Trump and Republicans,” she gassed.
Even administration insiders were not happy with Zacharia’s Tuesday performance.
“Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot. She needs to get much better, fast. Otherwise, she’ll break Scaramucci’s record,” a Trump official told MS NOW’s Jake Traylor, according to The Daily Beast.
Anthony Scaramucci was Trump’s communications director in the first six months of his first term in office. His term lasted from July 21, 2017, until July 31. He took over from Sean Spicer, the acting comms director and Trump’s first press secretary.
Traylor on MS NOW’S “State of Play” said he spoke to a former high-level Trump aide who said, “I think she is going to be a train wreck.”
“It’s not just open season for people to be critical of this woman,’ Traylor continued. “She has a tough job. This is going to be a tough gig for anybody who does it, but it is also a very high-level job … with real critical responsibilities.”
CNN reported that White House staffers said they “were missing Karoline.” The network’s Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins says a White House official described Zacharia’s briefing as “brutal.”
Social media exploded, and for once plenty of people agreed with the anonymous White House officials and aides’ descriptions of Zacharia’s briefing.
“She was a total nervous wreck, and it was a disaster,” an X user proclaimed.
Others suggested Zacharia won’t last long.
“She will resign in three months.”
Others agreed, “Press will eat her alive; she will be out in no time.”
Another sarcastically pointed out, “The most DEI administration ever.”
In announcing Zacharia as Leavitt’s replacement, Trump called her “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.”
The New York Times reported Zacharia is a conservative commentator who briefly worked as a spokesperson for former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Trump says Zacharia also previously worked on his election campaigns.
