Former press secretaries rally around Zacharia, who says she was unprepared for 'hostile' Hannity grilling after White House exit

Katie Zacharia, 42, who departed the Trump White House after just five days, has revealed that four former White House press secretaries reached out to offer support following her widely mocked single briefing — as she also spoke out about feeling blindsided by Sean Hannity's tough questioning over whether she had passed the bar exam. Zacharia, who had repeatedly described herself as a lawyer despite never having passed the bar, noted that Hannity had publicly come to her defence only two days before sitting down with her. Finnerty suggested the White House may have given Hannity the go-ahead to press her hard — an allegation both Fox News and Hannity have rejected.

Hannity had said of Zacharia days earlier: 'She's been attacked over her appearance, her hair, the way she spoke' — then raised those very same issues with her during the broadcast.

Zacharia said she was not prepared for the 'hostility' she encountered in the interview, describing herself as 'perplexed' by Hannity's line of questioning given his prior public support.

Zacharia wrote in a New York Post op-ed that she remains loyal to Trump, describing her return to California as 'a temporary pause between the work that matters most.'