J.D. Vance Fumbles When Quizzed on Kate Zacharia's White House Firing — Before Blaming Media
J.D. Vance struggled to get his words out when he was asked about Kate Zacharia's sacking.
Oct. 20 2026, Published 11:31 a.m. ET
Vice President J.D. Vance fumbled a simple question about Kate Zacharia while being grilled over the former White House Press Secretary’s sacking.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the VP appeared to struggle to find the words to explain her abrupt firing just five days into the job before seemingly blaming her departure on the media.
Flustered Over Zacharia Grilling
Vance appeared uncomfortable while discussing Zacharia's firing.
Her brief spell as Donald Trump's mouthpiece was marred by uncertainty surrounding her legal background after it was reported she had not passed her bar exam, despite both Zacharia — and the president — referring to herself as a lawyer.
Vance was being interviewed on 2WAY Tonight by Mark Halperin, when the subject of Zacharia was raised and the 42-year-old appeared instantly uncomfortable.
Halperin pointed out 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 on Monday night.
'She's a Sweet and Amazing Person'
Vance was full of praise for Zacharia.
Vance replied, "I think she’s a sweet person, an amazing person, and a real talent."
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."
"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."
He then claimed the media were "trying to make a big brouhaha" out of the question "Did she pass the bar?"
Trump Administration 'Learned Very Important Lesson'
Vance claimed White House will learn from botched hire.
Even MAGA-friendly 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."
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Vance was also grilled on Kimberly Guilfoyle's departure.
Monday’s interview also featured Halperin asking Vance about Kimberly Guilfoyle‘s departure as ambassador to Greece last week.
He said, "Fundamentally, when somebody becomes a distraction, sometimes it’s best just to move on so you can focus on the business of the White House."
