Vance Botches Katie Zacharia Question With Cringe Answer

Kenny Holston / via REUTERS Vice President JD Vance has fumbled a simple response to the fate of failed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia.

Vance was interviewed on 2WAY Tonight by Mark Halperin on Monday, who asked him about Zacharia, who swiftly exited her job as Trump’s mouthpiece last week after just five days.

Zacharia’s brief tenure was mired in controversy, from a truncated first press briefing where she confused Trump with her husband, to questions over her being labeled as an attorney , before admitting she had never passed the bar exam.

Halperin pointed out that Vance “helps run” the White House, and asked him, “What’s the lesson... from what happened with Katie Zacharia?” during an in-flight interview on Air Force Two, as the VP headed to North Carolina for a campaign rally.

“I think she’s a sweet person, an amazing person, and a real talent,” Vance, 42, began.

He then appeared to struggle to find his words, adding, “I mean, I guess, one lesson is that... ah, that’s interesting...

I think one lesson is that you’ve got to realize when the media makes it so hard for a person to do their job, you’ve got to set them up for success.” Vance then continued the go-to MAGA response of blaming the media.

“I think that the minute she came out of the gate, the vultures had descended upon her, people were trying to destroy her, just trying to destroy her professionally,” Vance said of Zacharia, claiming the media were “trying to make a big brouhaha” out of “did she pass the bar, did she not pass the bar?” Even Fox News host Sean Hannity grilled Zacharia on why she was referred to as an “attorney” on her social media, with Zacharia insisting she had only retweeted such posts, not instigated them herself.

During Monday’s interview, Vance admitted, “When you bring somebody into that incredible vortex of pressure and attention, maybe we... could do a better job of onboarding that person and preparing them for what’s coming after them.” Vance then added that the Trump administration had “learned a very important” lesson from the embarrassing fallout from the botched hire.

“When it’s clear it’s not working out, move on and go on to the next thing,” Vance said.

“And I think that’s what we did with Katie, to her benefit and also to the benefit of the White House.” Trump also claimed Zacharia had been treated “very badly by the media” when he announced her departure last Friday, saying, “She’s been treated very rough, and she’s a nice person, a very nice person.” Trump still has no replacement press secretary, with the midterm elections only weeks away.

During Monday’s interview, Halperin also asked Vance about another fresh Trump administration exit, after the president prematurely ended Kimberly Guilfoyle’s stint as ambassador to Greece last week.