President Donald Trump fired his new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia five days after he appointed her, brushing aside worries of her legal experience after his first briefing and raising questions about her first press briefing.
Trump had previously stated he had asked Zacharia to rethink her decision citing that media had treated her unfairly. At a press end discussion, he said he didn’t think the criticism she’s received was excessive and she shouldn’t have to deal with that kind of stress.
In Trump’s opinion, Katie “is a woman who has been treated very unfairly”, and “brutalised by the media”.
He also had told her that she didn’t have to go on and they should have a second thought if he were in the same situation.
The developments come after her first week in office, when Zacharia’s first White House press briefing was criticized and she was subjected to questions regarding her professional background.
Before becoming a noted conservative commentator for Newsmax and Fox News, Zacharia had identified herself as a lawyer. But the account given is that she had not taken a bar exam and had no legal licence in any state in the US, neither she nor the White House could provide evidence.
Her legal background in China was also questioned as she had been reportedly with a big law firm there years ago.
The affair escalated even further following news published by independent outlet, “Popular Information”, that Zacharia seemed to be not be admitted to practice in any US state. Reporters then went on to questions Trump about where she took her bar exam.
She had already garnered attention as she worked for a few months with Trump’s social media business prior to his announcement of her hire.
The dismissal follows rising doubts over Zacharia’s qualifications and a short stint in the White House’s press secretary role. The reason given for leaving was not included in the attached statement.