Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia accused Piers Morgan of trying to provoke “gotcha” moments during a tense interview.
Morgan spoke with Zacharia for an episode of his program released Wednesday, but the discussion grew increasingly strained as he questioned her about serving only five days as press secretary before President Trump asked her to leave the post.
Morgan asked how Zacharia reacted when Trump reportedly told her, “Was this really for you?” before dismissing her. She declined to discuss the exchange, saying, “I will keep private conversations between myself and the president confidential.”
Zacharia said she would “continue fighting” for Trump and called herself “ruthlessly loyal.” She also attempted to steer the conversation toward the upcoming midterm elections.
Morgan responded by telling Zacharia that she sounded “like a robot” and argued that answering his questions would not amount to betraying Trump’s trust.
“And when it comes to loyalty, he did fire you after five days. I mean, that’s what happened. He did it very nicely, but he made it clear to the world, this wasn’t gonna last much longer than five days,” Morgan said.
Following the interview, Zacharia turned to X to criticize what she described as Morgan’s unsuccessful attempts to manufacture “gotcha moments.”
Her comments came in response to a clip shared with the caption: “BRUTAL. JUST ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL. Perhaps the most uncomfortable interview I’ve EVER watched.”
Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia accused Piers Morgan of seeking “gotcha moments” during their interview
The conversation turned tense as Morgan repeatedly questioned Zacharia about being removed from the press secretary role after just five days
Zacharia declined to answer questions about her dismissal and said she remains “ruthlessly loyal” to Trump
Morgan interviewed Zacharia for an episode of his show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, released Wednesday
“You can spin your bulls*** however you want,” Zacharia replied.
“It was uncomfortable because Piers never got his gotcha moment despite two attempts. Changing the topics (despite denial) and not informing me Scaramucci was a guest.”
The final part of Zacharia’s post referred to a segment midway through the interview, when Morgan brought former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci into the discussion.
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Scaramucci held that position for only 10 days in 2017, during Trump’s first term. Morgan drew a direct comparison between his brief tenure and Zacharia’s experience.
“You’ve been right where Katie is,” Morgan told Scaramucci as he joined the program.
Zacharia initially smiled when the former communications director appeared, but her expression changed after Morgan said she had been “mocked mercilessly,” just as Scaramucci had, and had become “the laughing stock.”
Morgan then asked Scaramucci how he reacted to Zacharia’s removal and what advice he would offer her.
“I’m not here to be Katie’s life coach,” Scaramucci replied. He nevertheless praised her handling of the media scrutiny that followed her firing and gave her performance in the Morgan interview an “A plus.”
Zacharia also criticized Morgan for not telling her that he would bring on former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. She is pictured smiling as he came on the show
Zacharia’s face dropped as Morgan compared her experience to Scaramucci’s and said: ‘She’s been mocked mercilessly, as you were. She’s been the laughing stock, as you were’
He then said that Washington DC has a cutthroat atmosphere and that: ‘The shots come from inside in a job like that… You think these people in Washington are your friends, and they say nice things to you, but then they try to shiv you.’
Scaramucci added that he has disagreements with the president but respects that Zacharia still likes him. She replied by once again heaping praise on Trump.
‘I was able to receive the job opportunity because I was authentic with who I am, and I’m gonna leave authentic with who I am, and I am gonna continue fighting for the president because that is what I know I am called to do,’ Zacharia said.
Zacharia’s conversation with Morgan was not her first uncomfortable tango during a broadcasted interview.
The former press secretary was grilled about her legal credentials by Fox News’s Sean Hannity when she appeared on his show on October 15, just one day before she stepped down as press secretary.
Zacharia later appeared on Newsmax and revealed that she had been expecting a cordial conversation because Hannity had previously defended her on air.
She said the interview left her ‘perplexed about what happened’ but added, ‘I never bow away from a fight or back away from a fight,’ when asked if she would ever return to Hannity’s show.