'The View' Co-Hosts Blame Trump for Not Vetting Katie Zacharia Before Disastrous Turn as Press Sec. — as Ana Navarro Claims She Got Job for 'Looking Like Barbie'
'The View' panel is putting Katie Zacharia's press sec. nightmare on Donald Trump.
Oct. 21 2026, Published 4:45 p.m. ET
The hosts of The View have blamed President Trump for not vetting Katie Zacharia before her disastrous turn as White House Press Secretary, RadarOnline can report.
Zacharia was removed after five days, the fastest firing of any White House personnel ever, and the talk show panel dissected her brief tenure on an October 19 episode.
'Who Vetted Her?'
Sara Haines asked 'who vetted her?' as 'The View' ladies called out Trump's pick of Zacharia.
"Who vetted her?" Sara Haines asked. "You’re sending her out to answer questions for people. Why not ask a few questions yourself?"
Haines added, "I don't understand how this woman ever got that job. By the time we figured out what her last job was, she was canned from this job.”
As Radar previously reported, Trump personally picked Zacharia over the advice of his Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.
Ana Navarro on Hire: 'I Place This All on Donald Trump'
Ana Navarro put the blame on Trump.
Ana Navarro placed the responsibility squarely on the president.
"The way she got the job was by looking like press secretary Barbie and kissing his a-s on Fox News," she said.
Navarro argued that educational credentials mattered less than performance at the podium: "The educational requirements have nothing to do with the job of press secretary."
She continued, "I place this all on Donald Trump. He didn't ask the questions. She wasn't vetted; she wasn't auditioned. So, if you're going to make fun of anybody, I'm going to make fun of Donald Trump, who can't even hire a press secretary."
The Job’s Real Demands
Zacharia had the shortest tenure as press secretary: five days.
Alyssa Farah Griffin said the press secretary role was more demanding than Zacharia appeared prepared for.
"The easiest part of the job is going into the briefing room and answering questions from the press corps," Griffin said. "You have to know what’s going on in all parts of the government at all times, shadow the president. So she failed at the easiest part of the task."
Griffin joked that Zacharia lasted "half an Anthony Scaramucci" and added, "This is not on her. This is on the president and his Chief of Staff. They didn't vet, they didn’t interview, they didn't do a background check. They clearly didn't do a security clearance check because that would've shown her educational background.”
She also warned, "It's starting to feel like late 2020, when the wheels are falling off, and things are about to get real scary, and I really hope that's not the case."
Accountability for Credentials
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The Trump administration is responsible for hiring in the first place
Sunny Hostin argued Zacharia should also be held responsible.
"She did go to law school, but to call yourself a lawyer or an attorney that many times over and over again and misrepresent the fact that you did not pass the bar is an important thing," Hostin said. "I think lying about your credentials is an important thing, especially at a time in this country where women and women of color, in particular, are constantly questioned about our credentials and qualifications."
Whoopi Goldberg agreed that Zacharia bore responsibility.
"It can't come as a shock because Trump doesn't tell the truth,” Goldberg said. "I'm sure he thought, 'Well, they're never going to know.' But I have to put it on her, and I'll put it squarely on her because she passed herself off as this person, and nobody questioned it and just assumed.
"I wanna say, I'm glad she's gone. It’ll be interesting to see who replaces her."
