President Donald Trump speaks to the press after attending the wake for NYPD officer Jonathan Diller at Massapequa Funeral Home in Massapequa Park, NY, on March 28, 2024, Image via Shutterstock.
Even though former White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia failed at reading teleprompters, describing her resume and impressing President Donald Trump for more than five days, she did manage to perform a miracle on Saturday morning. She united a diverse panel of conservatives and liberals on exactly what kind of hire she was.
“For years, MAGA has fought against DEI, arguing that merit should trump everything and that only the most qualified should ultimately get the job. So, it is interesting that the president gave one of the hardest jobs in government to someone whose qualifications are in serious question,” said “Table for Five” host Abby Phillip.
Zacharia — who went down in flames and embarrassment last week after only a handful of days as press secretary — was a cable news pundit. She briefly worked at DHS and advised MAGA media. But she also claimed to be a lawyer, despite never passing a bar exam.
“It's a tough job, which is why you ought to know what you're doing,” said panelist and podcaster Cari Champion. “And you have to be able to put your words together. And you should be able to speak to an audience. And you should be able to have a subject and a predicate with a sentence. You have to be able to talk with a sense of conviction, if not confidence, to make me feel as if I understand you. So, if you ask the question, ‘Is this a DEI hire?’ I would say that is, by definition, someone who got the job, who isn't necessarily worthy of it, nor has the actual qualifications. And based on what they look like, that's why they got the job. That's a DEI hire.”
“That is my take, and that is a very honest take, and I am being kind,” Champion continued. “When I watched this woman get in front of the press corps and talk, I was uncomfortable for her. I literally felt bad for her because I was like, well, what's going on here? And then you have these. … There are all these leaked text messages from the administration saying that they were concerned about whether or not she was the person for the job.”
Even Trump allegedly said Zacharia had no talent, but installed her anyway.
The former secretary was ready with a host of reasons for bombing her inaugural day presentation, but conservative panelist and NewsNation correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera accepted no excuses.
“They should have really grilled her, prepped her,” said conservative commentator Geraldo Rivera. “She's not a lawyer, so someone must have cued up the fact that, ‘hey, you know, you're going to be asked if you're a lawyer. Are you a lawyer?’ [Then] say ‘I'm not a lawyer. I'm a law school graduate.’”
“None of it's an excuse,” said former New York congressman and panelist John Avalon. “Maybe you could argue it's cruel for them to put her in that position, but she's obviously unqualified to do that job. And she took one question about Ukraine that she didn't even have the answer to. … So, this is someone who's not qualified for this position. The problem is that's part of a pattern. Pete Hegseth isn't qualified to be secretary of defense. Kash Patel is not qualified to be FBI director. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not qualified to run HHS. So, this is a pattern. The problem is you can look the job, but on this job, you actually have to know enough to be able to speak off the cuff clearly. And she cannot.”
National Review senior writer and panelist Noah Rothman tried to be slightly more generous to Zacharia, arguing that her being an attorney did not matter so much, since the job “is to give the best narrative on behalf of the administration — not lie, but spin, at times to present the narrative that is factually true, but nevertheless reflects as well as possible on their policies.”
“But you've got to be able to go back and check your facts,” Rothman added, less generously.
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