Zacharia mocks China's toilets, faces bar exam scrutiny — SkimNews
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- Katie Zacharia, appointed less than a week ago as White House press secretary, said China lacked "proper toilets" in an interview with right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec that aired Thursday (Oct 15).
- Zacharia cited her time living in China to push back on 2016 conventional wisdom that China would overtake the US, recalling she thought "How is China the next country on the horizon? They don't even have proper toilets."
- Zacharia, 41, faces parallel scrutiny over her legal credentials after giving an inconclusive answer about where she passed the bar exam, despite listing herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit.
- Zacharia said she registered for the bar exam but was "distracted and overwhelmed" by plans to move with her husband to China, and never retake the exam after returning due to the birth of her first child.
- At her first White House press briefing on Tuesday, Zacharia answered questions from only three journalists.
- Karoline Leavitt stepped down as press secretary in August to care for her young children, the role Zacharia succeeded her in.
- Trump and Xi Jinping held a Washington summit in September covering AI, trade, and the "stalled war in Iran," confirming a third and fourth meeting this year — a posture that sits awkwardly alongside Zacharia's mockery of Chinese infrastructure.
Why it matters: Zacharia enters a high-visibility role already shadowed by two vulnerabilities: an undisclosed bar exam status and a dismissive China remark that clashes with Trump's public "great relationship" with Jinping announced at a September summit. Her predecessor Karoline Leavitt was a combative spokesperson who also drew heavy scrutiny, suggesting the position remains a recurring liability for the administration.
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