Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia says she remains “ruthlessly loyal” to Donald Trump, despite the president telling a rally crowd that she had “freaked out” during her short stint in his administration.
Zacharia, 41, spent only five days in the role before Trump dismissed her last week following a series of gaffes and visibly nervous appearances.
Trump revisited her troubled tenure at a Florida rally on Friday, referring to her as a “poor young woman.” Even so, Zacharia spoke warmly about the president after the event.
“No wonder that poor young woman — she was a perfect, beautiful woman — when she walked into that press room and they started screaming at her, she freaked out,” Trump said.
Speaking to Newsweek, Zacharia said: “It was an honor to work for President Trump, and no one has been more relentlessly attacked by the media than him.”
She added that “the best is yet to come,” describing her week in the Trump administration as a period spent working “around the clock” ahead of the midterm elections.
Citing Rudyard Kipling, Zacharia said her brief time on the campaign trail showed her that Trump could connect with both world leaders and ordinary voters.
“As Rudyard Kipling wrote, ‘If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch.’ After a week with him on the midterm blitz, I saw that in action,” she said.
“Working around the clock with world leaders — bringing hostages home and brokering peace — while speaking to crowds of Americans to win the midterms and deliver for the people.
“No one has carried the water for the Republican Party and America First like he has for over a decade, all without losing the common touch.”
Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia says she remains “ruthlessly loyal” to Donald Trump, even after the president mocked her for “freaking out” during her brief time in the administration
Zacharia, 41, held the job for only five days before a series of gaffes and nervous performances led Trump to fire her last week
Zacharia’s praise came after she was removed from office in less than a week, making her the shortest-serving White House press secretary in history.
Trump initially defended her difficult start, accusing the media of treating Zacharia unfairly and dismissing questions about her background as irrelevant.
He later said he had asked Zacharia, “Is this for you?” Trump suggested he might have reconsidered the role in her position, telling her: “You don’t need this.”
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: U.S. Designates Helium Critical After 60 Minutes Supply Crisis
After Zacharia’s departure, her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, offered a blunt appraisal of her performance, saying the high-profile role “obviously wasn’t for her.”
“Look, the White House press secretary is a tough job,” Leavitt told Fox News.
“I know that because I did it, obviously, for almost two years, and many people say it’s one of the hardest jobs in politics. It takes a lot of preparation, and sometimes you don’t know how someone will perform until they go out there.”
Leavitt appeared to suggest that Zacharia had not been sufficiently prepared, recalling how intensely she had prepared before taking on the position.
“I poured myself into my preparation. I read, I studied, I talked to every Cabinet member, I talked to the president. I just absorbed as much information as this noggin up here could,” Leavitt said.
Zacharia said she continues to support the president because “no one has been more relentlessly attacked by the media than him”
Zacharia became the shortest-serving press secretary in White House history
Zacharia also faced questions over her legal credentials after it was brought to light that she had failed the California bar exam in 2011.
She then moved to Beijing with her husband and worked at a Chinese law firm.
Despite never passing the bar exam, Zacharia frequently appeared on news channels as a legal analyst, offering commentary on legal and political issues while identifying herself as a lawyer.
Zacharia’s rocky debut was followed by an uncomfortable appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on October 15, just hours before she was pushed out of the job the following day.
Hannity delivered a notably tough grilling, confronting her over her widely criticized briefing, pressing her on why she had repeatedly described herself as a lawyer despite failing the California bar exam.
He challenged her explanation for the short briefing, asking: ‘Why only three questions in 14 minutes?’ before warning her that the White House briefing room would ‘never be a friendly room to you.’
Zacharia defended herself by blaming the whirlwind hiring process and lack of preparation time, but the combative interview added to the scrutiny surrounding her brief tenure.
