White House chief of staff Susie Wiles helped arrange Katie Zacharia’s appearance on Fox News shortly before the new White House press secretary was removed from her position, Politico reported on Saturday, citing two people familiar with internal discussions.
The interview with host Sean Hannity aired on Thursday night and focused on Zacharia ’s qualifications and her troubled start in the role. She was ousted on Friday after just five days as press secretary.
Trump says he told Zacharia to reconsider the role
However, a senior White House official disputed the suggestion that Wiles had orchestrated the interview to undermine Zacharia, saying the chief of staff did not need to arrange such an encounter. During the interview, Hannity questioned Zacharia about her first White House press briefing, which he described as widely criticized. Hannity also raised social media posts identifying her as an attorney.
The briefing lasted 14 minutes and included three questions, according to the report.
Another source alleged that Wiles and White House spokesperson Danielle Alvarez had sent Zacharia into a difficult interview with Hannity, with whom Wiles is said to have a friendly relationship. White House communications director Steven Cheung also dismissed the reporting as speculation, while Fox News Media said Hannity independently decides whom he interviews and what questions he asks. Zacharia said these were retweets and that she had not intended to endorse the title. She added that legal professionals had told her she could describe herself as a lawyer. Referring to her television appearances, he said Hannity and Fox & Friends had been “a little tough” on her.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had advised Zacharia to consider whether she wanted to remain press secretary.
