The White House is standing beside their new press secretary after a widely panned debut briefing and serious questions about her past.
Katie Zacharia’s social media history shows her promoting debunked conspiracy theories making wild allegations.
President Donald Trump defended new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
“The radical left Hollywood elitists are sick pedo cannibals. Change my mind,” she wrote on Truth Social in 2022.
She also sang the praises of Robert David Steele, a conspiracy theorist who believed NASA had a colony of kidnapped children on Mars.
She was also actively engaged with QAnon conspiracists on Truth Social.
In 2022, Zacharia responded to a user hypothesising about Donald Trump’s behaviour at an event.
“Did you notice Trump drinking bottled water last night during his announcement?” the user wrote.
“He drank at least 2-3 times. I have not seen him do that at his speeches or rallies. It reminds me of Q posts 765, 767, and 847. Or was it a signal for something else; by land or by sea.”
Zacharia responded: “I was wondering the same thing.”
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia walks out to speak with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
She also falsely claimed that abortion drug mifepristone was used by Nazis in concentration camps.
Zacharia is also facing questions about her own resume.
She had described herself as an attorney, but was asked where she passed a bar exam.
“When I moved to China,” she replied.
There is no evidence of Zacharia passing any US state bar exam, which is necessary to practice law in America. China also does not allow foreigners to take their bar exam.
“One cannot take an American state bar exam in China. Bar exams are administered at designated testing locations in each state of the union,” Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu said.
“Are Katie Zacharia and Trump lying when they say she is an attorney?”
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in her debut appearance at the podium. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
In a statement issued by her own office, Zacharia’s 14-minute press conference was praised.
“Today, Katie Zacharia delivered a commanding inaugural press briefing as the 37th White House Press Secretary,” the White House statement read.
“The briefing, which generated wall-to-wall coverage, served as a strong introduction to her tenure and highlighted the Trump Administration’s record of delivering historic successes for the American people.”
But the White House’s statement flies in the face of reviews from outside the administration.
Zacharia took questions from three friendly outlets, and struggled to answer them.
At one point, she described her husband as “my president” before correcting herself.
There was an audible gasp from the press corps when she announced the end of the press conference, which was far shorter than usual.
Zacharia’s performance prompted a self-aware remark from Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former communications director who was sacked after 11 days.
“The clock is running. Thus far 1/11th of a Scaramucci,” he wryly wrote on X.