Former Trump Press Secretary Says She Was Blindsided by Hannity’s ‘Hostility’ 

Former White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia said she was caught off guard by the “hostility” that Fox News host Sean Hannity showed her during an interview this month.

Zacharia’s tenure lasted just five days. In her first briefing, which ran only 14 minutes, she took just three questions. She occasionally stumbled over her words and seemed generally unprepared. Despite the widely panned performance, an indignant Hannity defended Zacharia hours later on his show.

“Zacharia’s been mocked,” he said. “She’s been attacked over her appearance, her hair, the way she spoke. They questioned her intelligence, her credentials. They even asked about her bar exam.”

Just two days later, Hannity grilled her over those same credentials, including her claim about being a lawyer despite having never passed the bar exam.

On Tuesday, Zacharia spoke with Rob Finnerty of Newsmax in what was her first television interview since departing the White House. The host referred to speculation that someone at the White House gave Hannity the go-ahead to put her through the wringer. Fox and Hannity have denied the charge.

“Katie, I was shocked by the Hannity treatment if I’m being honest,” Finnerty said. “I don’t think he does that if he doesn’t get the green light from somebody, perhaps at the White House. I don’t know. But what do you make of this narrative that Fox did this on purpose?”

“I’m just as perplexed about what happened specifically with Sean Hannity,” Zacharia said before saying Hannity’s team asked her earlier this year if she would like to work for Hannity as a California correspondent.

Finnerty replied by asking if Hannity’s team had questioned her on her credentials.

“I doubt that he had any interest in your educational background at that point when you had that call,” Finnerty said. “Is that accurate? Is that fair?”

“We never had a conversation about my educational background,” Zacharia answered.

“Will you ever go back on Sean Hannity’s show?” the host asked.

“Look, I never bow away from a fight or back away from a fight, Rob. I’ve been on CNN. I’ve debated some of the most hostile, not anchors, but guests. And I have been able to do it with grace, with dignity, and walk away and even maintain decorum,” she responded. “I’m ready to go. But because I had had a very friendly rapport with Sean and he had even made very backing statements about me on Tuesday, October 13th, really coming to my defense, I was not prepared for the hostility that I received.”

In a statement, Hannity told the Hollywood Reporter, “My audience knows exactly where I stand, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to ask tough questions when they’re warranted.” He added, “I gave her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and let the audience judge for themselves. I assumed she would take advantage of the opportunity and put all of this to rest before the next briefing.”

He added, “I’ve been doing this long enough to know that people will have strong reactions. My job is to ask the questions, get answers and let the audience decide for themselves. I allowed her a lot of time uninterrupted for her to answer.”

Watch above via Newsmax.

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