On October 13th, local time, Katie Zakaria, the new White House press secretary, hosted her first press conference since taking office. However, her performance was extremely poor, leading to questions from all sectors of American society. According to sources from the White House, Zakaria needs to improve her performance quickly, otherwise she may "lose her job in record time."
According to CNN, after Zacaria’s press conference, several White House advisors and officials commented that the meeting was 'awkward and blunt', and likely failed to satisfy U.S. President Trump. Some officials said they couldn’t understand why the White House was so eager to have Zacaria in charge, and her performance was disappointing.
Zakaria’s debut lasted only about 15 minutes, during which she spent most of the time making opening remarks and boasting about Trump’s achievements, calling him “the president who best benefits families among those we have known”. She refused to answer whether the United States stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, and then announced that the White House had requested Kempelie Gilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign.
During the entire press conference, Zakaria only invited three journalists to ask questions. Near the end of the event, she made a very embarrassing mistake. While answering a question about her private life, she mistakenly said “my husband” instead of “my president”.
Zakaria's poor performance has caused great dissatisfaction among White House officials. One of Trump's advisors told CNN, "She should have spent two weeks doing mock drills before appearing on stage. The best thing she did was revealing information about Gilfoyle—at least this distracted people from her performance."
Another White House official found it ‘unbelievable’. The official said, ‘Why did they make her take office so quickly? There is absolutely no reason for her to be put in charge without any preparation.’
The new White House press secretary in the United States, Katie Zakaria. Visual China.
CNN reported that the time of the White House press conference was significantly shorter than usual. The previous White House press secretary, Caroline Lavelle, held the press conference, which averaged about 45 minutes in duration. A White House advisor said, “There’s no doubt that we all miss Caroline.”
According to sources, before deciding to appoint Zacaria as the White House press secretary, Trump greatly appreciated her performance at Fox News. However, White House advisors pointed out that participating in television programs and standing on a podium during press conferences with reporters worldwide are two completely different things.
The American MS NOW news channel reported that there was concern within the White House regarding Zacarias' performance. They believed Zacarias' debut was not satisfactory. A White House official told the channel, "She needs to improve her performance quickly, otherwise she will break Anthony Scaramurach's record."
The official mentioned Scarlamuchi, who served as the director of the White House Communications and Liaison Office in 2017. He was removed from his position just 10 days after taking office.
According to sources cited by CNN, although Zacaria performed poorly, this was her first time hosting a White House press conference. It is expected that Trump will give her another chance.
In addition, Zakaria also faces questions regarding her legal qualifications. Zakaria has repeatedly claimed to be a lawyer. At a press conference on the 13th, she stated that she passed the bar exam when she moved to China, but did not specify which jurisdiction she was in. Since she only mentioned China, it is unclear whether she is referring to the time she passed the exam or the location where she obtained her practicing qualification.
Public records show that Zakaria worked as a lawyer at one of China's largest law firms from 2011 to 2013. However, analysis indicates that at that time, candidates for the Chinese National Judicial Examination must be Chinese citizens; foreign citizens were not eligible to take the exam. Working solely at a Chinese law firm does not certify that someone holds a Chinese lawyer's practicing qualification.
Independent journalist Jad Legram stated that no evidence was found indicating that Zakaria has obtained legal practice qualifications in all 50 states of the United States or the District of Columbia.
When NBC asked Zakaria whether he had passed the bar exam, a White House official did not directly answer. The official stated that after graduating from Zakaria Law School, Zakaria moved to China with his husband, who worked at a private equity company in the United States. Zakaria worked in international transaction law there, and later the two returned to the United States.
Zakaria claims to be a lawyer and has four children. She frequently appears on American conservative television shows and is currently a senior communications advisor for Trump's media and technology group. Previously, she worked as a conservative commentator for Fox News and Newsmax television stations, and served as the director of development affairs at Pepperdine University, where she earned both her undergraduate and legal degrees.
