Trump's new press secretary under fire after China bar exam remark; Polymarket bets on how long Katie Zacharia will last

Katie Zacharia, the new White House Press Secretary who replaced Karoline Leavitt, made headlines on Tuesday (Oct 13) as she made her briefing room debut. A conservative commentator and former State Department employee, Zacharia had a disastrous debut that was marked by remarkably few questions from journalists and loads of praise for US President Donald Trump. Notably, the briefing lasted only 14 minutes and included questions from only three conservative outlets before she deferred all questions to Trump himself.

A key moment from the debut briefing was when the 'visibly nervous' Zacharia slipped up, referring to "my president" as "excuse me, my husband," triggering ripples of laughter. She also raised eyebrows when she said that she had passed her bar exam when she moved to China.

The disastrous debut has already prompted a Polymarket bet about when Zacharia would be "out as press secretary".

Bets placed on how long Zacharia will last as press secretary

Prediction market Polymarket wagers have given Zacharia a mere 29 per cent chance of lasting the year.

Her performance has triggered backlash online, with netizens wondering if she would even last as long as ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who held the position for a record-short stint of 10 days in 2017 during Trump’s first term. For now, the odds of her being ousted by the end of the month (October) are low at just eight per cent.

Is Zacharia a "joke hire"?

Talking to The Independent, a former Trump admin official dubbed Zacharia's debut a "train wreck". The former Trump official, as per the report, previously described her as a "joke hire" who would likely be "gone in six months".

Katie Zacharia- Donald Trump: Previous links

A 41-year-old devotee of Trump's hard-right MAGA movement, Zacharia, is known to make frequent appearances on conservative outlets Fox News and Newsmax. According to her LinkedIn profile, she previously worked as a legal adviser for Fix California, a conservative group founded by Trump's former Venezuela envoy Richard Grenell. The group aims to address what it described as "the left's stranglehold" on state politics.

She has also previously served as an adviser to Trump Media and Technology, the group behind the president's Truth Social platform.

Zacharia also had a brief stint as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security before departing in March. She interned at the White House during President George W. Bush's administration.

Zacahria's Chinese law degree

The new press secretary's debut also saw her fielding questions about her law degree and bar accreditation. Talking to the press alongside Trump before the POTUS left for Alaska, Zacharia was asked where she passed the bar exam: "China", she answered.

“Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state?” a reporter asked Trump, who then turned to Zacharia to ask her, "Which state?”

Her reply has since become a point of contention. “When I moved to China,” Zacharia responded.

The White House has sought to clarify the remark and has clarified that Zacharia passed the bar exam and had moved to China with her husband after graduating due to his job at a US private equity firm. She, meanwhile, worked on international transaction law, reported The Hill.