USAupdated 2h ago2 min read
Mao Ning Welcomes Katie Zacharia to Visit China After White House Bathroom Remarks
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China invited White House spokesperson Katie Zacharia to visit, in response to her bathroom remarks. Zacharia drew controversy by saying China lacks "decent/adequate" toilets in a TV interview.
8 outlets told this the same way.
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Toilets and a diplomatic invite
Katie Zacharia, the new White House spokesperson, questioned China’s development in an interview with conservative commentator Jack Posobiec, saying, “How can China be the next country on the horizon? They don’t even have decent toilets!”
Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, responded during a press conference by welcoming Zacharia to visit China “more often whenever you have the opportunity,” after Zacharia’s remarks.
Zacharia recalled that in 2016 there was a perception that China could surpass the United States as the world’s leading power, and she said she found that hard to understand after her experience in China.
Zacharia also faced scrutiny after her appointment, with coverage focusing on her legal credentials and a confusing answer about where she passed the bar exam, a prerequisite to practice in the United States.
Bar exam questions intensify
Katie Zacharia told reporters she had enrolled to take the bar exam but said she was “distracted and overwhelmed” by preparations to move to China with her husband. Zacharia added that she did not take the exam again after returning to the United States due to the birth of her first child, and she said she had never passed the bar exam in an interview conducted on October 15.
The Campaign for Accountability asked for the California bar to launch an investigation, and the group filed a complaint with the California State Bar on Wednesday urging an investigation into whether Zacharia violated state law by presenting herself as a lawyer without a license. Anthony Scaramucci attacked the watchdog group, calling it a “radical left-wing” group and questioning its credibility in a statement to CBS News.
Trump ties and legal stakes
President Donald Trump highlighted his “great relationship” with Xi Jinping, and the coverage said Trump and Xi met twice this year. The controversy around Zacharia’s legal credentials also drew attention to her first White House briefing, where she answered questions from only three reporters after succeeding Karoline Leavitt, who resigned in August to care for her young children.
The Wall Street Journal and several American outlets were cited for reporting that Zacharia failed the California bar exam in 2011 after graduating from Pepperdine University School of Law, and that she was not listed as a licensed attorney in California or Texas or Washington, D.C. The California complaint cited California’s Business and Professions Code, which criminalizes presenting oneself as authorized to practice law without a valid license, with the complaint stating it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.