Spicer weighs in on Zacharia’s White House press briefing: ‘I felt bad for her’

Sean Spicer, a former White House press secretary during President Trump’s first term, said he felt bad for new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia after a rocky start behind the podium.

In an interview Wednesday, Spicer said he empathized with the challenges of serving as the president’s chief spokesperson after Zacharia was criticized for her performance during her 14-minute debut Tuesday.

“You have no idea what is — you’re about to get hit in the face in a way that you never have,” he told former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine on “The Huddle” podcast.

Zacharia, who was tapped to replace Karoline Leavitt, appeared to be nervous as she spoke, often looking down at her notes and making several blunders, like accidentally referring to her husband as “my president.”

Some viewed her as unprepared when she was unable to answer a question about Ukraine — a subject that has been dominating headlines — from Fox News, which was one of only three outlets she took questions from.

Spicer said he thinks Zacharia likely did not have enough time to prepare before the briefing, which occurred only four days after Trump publicly named her as his new press secretary.

“You got to know everything. Russia, Iran, the economy, legislative priorities, the midterms. You cannot cram for that that soon,” he said.

“I felt bad because you’re setting someone up for failure by trying to do that that quick,” he continued.

Spicer, who resigned from the Trump administration in 2017 in opposition to Anthony Scaramucci’s hiring as White House communications director, said it was also difficult to prepare for the new set of eyes on you from across the globe.

“There’s a level of scrutiny into your personal background, every post that you’ve made, your family, your business records, your family records,” Spicer said.

This was especially true for Zacharia, who is now facing widespread speculation over her claim of being a lawyer after her bizarre answer to a very basic question about her law background.

“When I moved to China,” she told reporters alongside Trump in response to a question about which state she passed the bar exam in.

Her answer immediately prompted calls for an investigation into her credentials and whether she was ever licensed to practice law. There has been no evidence she completed the bar exam, and non-Chinese citizens are unable to take China’s legal exam.

Spicer offered her some grace for appearing to crumble a bit under the weight of the high-profile gig, especially when factoring in the notion that every single thing she says will be mulled over with a fine-tooth comb by some of the best in the business.

“I don’t think that people fully appreciate that the media and the left are going through and scrutinizing you and creating a level of intensity that … you cannot prepare yourself for,” Spicer said.

While Zacharia is no stranger to television, having appeared on Fox News numerous times and having a solid background in communications, Spicer said the insurmountable pressure and worldwide notoriety that comes from being the president’s top spokesperson is “not even close.”