Katie Zacharia's stint as White House press secretary lasted only five days, but Jimmy Fallon was still able to snag a "quick interview" with her.
"President Trump fired his new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, after just five days on the job," Fallon said on Monday, Oct. 19's episode of "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon."
"It's not good when the edible arrangement you got on your first day is still edible on your last day."Zacharia made her debut at the White House's James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Tuesday, Oct. 13, but by Friday, Oct. 19, she was on her way out.
Trump told reporters on Oct. 16 that the press secretary job might not be for Zacharia and said he had asked her to consider stepping down.
"I said to Katie, 'You know, you don't
have to do this if you don't want to,'" Trump said, adding that she's been treated "very rough" and "nastily" by the media. "I said, 'Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider. You think about it, but I'd reconsider.'"
Fallon teases Zacharia over lawyer controversy
"Everybody is talking about her," Fallon said on the show. "So, she actually agreed to join us for a quick interview right now."
Fallon then thanks Zacharia for being on the show, saying, "We're very, very lucky." She is then heard saying, "Good morning." The joke becomes apparent as clips and phrases from Zacharia's first briefing then play as Fallon asks her questions.
For instance, to answer Fallon's question about where she passed the bar exam, Zacharia is heard saying, "The Western Hemisphere." When probed further, she responds, via the clips, "Venezuela," and when asked where she got her license to practice law, her answer is "from Amazon."
Zacharia faced criticism for misrepresenting herself as a lawyer. The Pepperdine University law school graduate later acknowledged that she failed the California bar exam and is not licensed to practice law.
Fallon pokes fun at Zacharia's 'my president' flub
The "interview" also roasted Zacharia's verbal flub ‒ which she quickly caught ‒ when she accidentally referred to "the president" while discussing her husband and her four children, who she said have joined her in Washington.
"So, my president, excuse me, my husband ‒ that's a good one ‒ my husband is out here for the week," she said, adding that "The idea of not spending evenings with my kids is completely unacceptable."
Referencing the mishap, Fallon asks Zacharia: "Now that you're unemployed, who will you spend your time with?" Zacharia responds, again via a clip from the briefing: "My president, excuse me, my husband."
Fallon also asks Zacharia to recommend "young blondes who aren't afraid to take on an 80-year-old man," which leads to a clip of the now-former White House press secretary saying "Jake Paul."
On Oct. 12, Trump named Zacharia, 41, as Karoline Leavitt's successor after Leavitt left her position in August. In addition to being a conservative commentator and regular guest on Fox News and Newsmax, Zacharia also worked as senior communications adviser for the company that runs Trump's social media platform, Truth Social.
Fallon also mocked the length of Zacharia's term as White House press secretary.
"Well, guys, the midterm elections are just 15 days away," Fallon said. "Yeah, that's not a lot of time. That's only three White House press secretaries from now."
Contributing: Mike Snider, Joey Garrison, Zac Anderson, Francesca Chambers, Bart Jansen / USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@usatodayco.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Fallon 'interviews' Katie Zacharia about press secretary stint
