President Trump says White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is free to reconsider taking the position, a sign she might be on her way out less than a week after starting the job.
Mr. Trump, speaking to White House reporters on Friday, said he told Ms. Zacharia, “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.”
Mr. Trump made the blunt comments to White House reporters as he departed for a trip to Georgia.
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Ms. Zacharia had a rocky start to her role as press secretary on Tuesday, when she held a briefing that lasted 15 minutes and seemed overly scripted to some critics.
She also faced questions about why she identified herself as a lawyer despite not passing the bar exam.
Ms. Zacharia took over the press secretary job for Karoline Leavitt, who joined the White House at the start of Mr. Trump’s second term but left in August to spend more time with family.
Mr. Trump said Ms. Zacharia had been treated “nastily” after her debut.
“I said to Katie, ‘You know, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said. “I said to her, honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.
“I just want her to be happy,” Mr. Trump said.
Ms. Zacharia tried to defend herself late Thursday in a tough interview with conservative television personality Sean Hannity, a Fox News host who is friendly with Mr. Trump.
“It’s been widely panned. I’m sure you’re aware,” Mr. Hannity said of her first briefing Tuesday. “It only lasted 14 minutes. You only took three questions.”
Ms. Zacharia said she detailed Mr. Trump’s accomplishments and delivered breaking news about a major change in the administration, referring to the forced resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle.
“Given the fact that I’ve been on the job less than maybe eight hours, and had a briefing book in the morning, I feel like I did my very best, Sean, to deliver for the American people that day,” Ms. Zacharia said.
Ms. Zacharia said she got a phone call on Wednesday, flew to Washington on Thursday, had a White House meeting on Friday and was offered the job.
She flew back to California on Saturday and flew to Washington again on Sunday and had a briefing on Monday morning, a federal holiday.
“What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate to do the press conference, Sean, with very little prep time,” she said.
Ms. Zacharia also spent the week defending her decision to identify as a lawyer or attorney.
“You went to Pepperdine Law School, but you did not pass the bar exam, correct?” Mr. Hannity said.
“Correct,” Ms. Zacharia said.
Ms. Zacharia said she sat for the bar exam at a busy time in her life — her family was poised to move to China – because she did not want a withdrawal on her record.
She said she was not worried about the result, anyway, because of the overseas move. She got a job in an “international practice of a Chinese law firm” and worked on big transactions.
Mr. Trump said it was not unusual for lawyers to take the bar exam multiple times before passing and that he hired Ms. Zacharia to be a press secretary, anyway, not a lawyer.
The Washington Times has reached out to Ms. Zacharia for comment.
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