Sean Hannity Puts Trump’s Press Secretary Through the Ringer: ‘What Happened?’

Fox News host Sean Hannity absolutely grilled President Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, over her rocky debut at the briefing room podium, questioning, “What happened?”

Zacharia faced immediate backlash after her first briefing on Tuesday. The new press secretary fielded only three questions in 14 minutes, with much of that time spent on prepared remarks. One White House official even told MS NOW that she had gotten off on the “wrong foot” and needed to improve “fast.”

While Hannity, a friend of the president’s, initially defended Zacharia, calling her briefing “perfectly normal” and any attacks against her “nasty,” he seemed to have at least somewhat changed his tune by Thursday, when she appeared on Hannity.

Noting that her debut was “widely panned,” the Fox News host asked, “What happened? How did you feel it went personally?”

The new press secretary responded similarly to how she did earlier Thursday on Real America’s Voice, noting that she accepted the job just days before delivering her first briefing and that her preparation materials weren’t finalized until Tuesday morning.

“Am I hearing that you think the staff should have prepped you better?” Hannity wondered.

“I could have just given a brief intro,” explained Zacharia. “Instead of taking questions, I probably should have stepped aside.”

She emphasized, however, that she was proud to have announced Trump’s decision to ask Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former U.S. ambassador to Greece, to step down amid damaging allegations about her conduct in office.

Next, Hannity moved on to a new line of questioning — new reporting that she never passed the bar exam despite repeatedly appearing on television and being identified as a lawyer.

Here is that exchange:

HANNITY: You called it a “conspiracy theory” as it related to the issue of being a lawyer. Now, you did go to Pepperdine. Pepperdine is a good school — no doubt about it. You took the bar exam, but you didn’t pass the bar exam. Correct?

ZACHARIA: Yes, Sean.

HANNITY: Okay. Did you ever take it a second time?

ZACHARIA: So, for background, I graduated Pepperdine, got married in the same week, and we had all the intent to move out to China. I had already preregistered for the bar exam during — basically during the summer. I knew I would be living in China and the results of the bar were inconsequential, and I sat for it because I didn’t want to have a withdrawal status. And then I moved over to China, where I did get a job in an international practice at a Chinese law firm. I was doing multi-cross-country border transactions and multi-million-dollar shareholder agreements and —

HANNITY: Okay, but I wanna ask you specifically — I know that part of the story, and you did do all of that — but did you ever take the bar exam a second time or a third time?

ZACHARIA: I did not, Sean.

HANNITY: You did not. Okay. So, you said you consulted with many people, and they advised you that it was okay to call yourself a lawyer but not an attorney. Correct?

ZACHARIA: Correct.

HANNITY: Okay. There’s a report out tonight that shows 15 social media posts where you identify yourself as an attorney.

ZACHARIA: I think they were retweets, and I corrected the record and said that that’s not endorsing the title. They were retweets of a title that had been given.

HANNITY: Look, that is a very tough room, and I’ve known a lot of press secretaries over the years. Following on the heels of Karoline Leavitt is very tough. Speaking for Donald Trump makes everything tougher. Why not just say, “I went to Pepperdine Law School and then took a different career path, and I took the bar once and didn’t pass it?” Why get into this long, drawn-out definition of the difference between a lawyer and an attorney? ‘Cause I don’t think most people see much of a distinction. Why didn’t you just say, “I never practiced law?”

ZACHARIA: Sean, when I moved back to the United States, I didn’t retake the bar. I had four kids in six years. It was never my intent to go into the practice of law. When I went to engage in media and give legal analysis, I consulted attorneys and legal professionals as to whether or not they agreed that I could be labeled a lawyer — both because I had a valid Juris Doctor from a good law school, a reputable law school, Pepperdine Law School, and in conjunction with the fact that I did have actual, substantive legal experience. I wasn’t providing any legal analysis, Sean, or — excuse me — legal advice. I wasn’t being paid for legal advice. I was giving a general review of the legal circumstances surrounding it.

HANNITY: Alright. Why only three questions in 14 minutes, and what might you do a little differently going forward? I can give you some unsolicited advice. That’s never gonna be a friendly room to you.

ZACHARIA: Yeah. So, what I would say is I would absolutely be very well prepared on the briefing, Sean, and I would love — and I do love questions — and I would love to build a relationship with all of those members of the press corps, so there is a substantive component to us having an ability to interact, and I will be very prepared, Sean, and I will step up to the duty that President Trump has asked me to as press secretary.

Watch the above on Fox News.

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