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It's been a rocky start for Katie Zacharia. She's the new White House press secretary. And her first press briefing yesterday raised a lot of questions, including some about her own background. NPR's Brian Mann reports.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Zacharia has been a regular commentator on right-wing media. In naming her as his chief spokesperson, President Trump praised her loyalty to himself and his MAGA movement. During her first outing before the White House press corps, Zacharia mostly read from a script, praising her new boss.
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KATIE ZACHARIA: I have wanted to work for him for a very long time. I'm looking forward to working with each of you as well.
MANN: The briefing was short, barely 15 minutes long. In a performance widely described as halting and unsteady, Zacharia took questions from only three outlets, all conservative. When asked by Fox News about one of the big stories of the day, the Trump administration's increasingly frosty relationship with Ukraine, Zacharia responded this way.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the U.S. stopped sharing intel with Ukraine?
ZACHARIA: I'll have to get back to you on that.
MANN: Zacharia will have to find her voice quickly. She's stepping in at a moment when Trump is scrambling to limit potential Republican losses in the midterm, at a time when polls show he's deeply unpopular. Zacharia was asked about the political climate but didn't acknowledge the GOP's difficulties, instead promising what she described as a midterm blitz.
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ZACHARIA: With energy and excitement never seen before in the history of midterms, thanks to President Trump.
MANN: Before joining the White House team, Zacharia had a history of pushing right-wing conspiracy theories on social media, including debunked claims that top Democratic leaders were pedophiles and Trump's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Yesterday, Zacharia was questioned about a personal claim. While it's not a requirement for the press secretary position, she's described herself repeatedly as an attorney, but it's unclear whether she passed the bar in any U.S. state, which is a requirement to be an attorney.
During an exchange with reporters outside the White House, Trump appeared to ask Zacharia in which state she took the bar exam. Zacharia, a graduate of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, answered by saying that she had moved to China, an apparent reference to her time living in Beijing. NPR asked her to clarify what that means. In an email statement, Zacharia said she practiced international transaction law with all the appropriate credentials.
Brian Mann, NPR News, Washington.
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