“This should be GRIPPING!!!!”: Andy Cohen mocks Trump’s ex press sec Katie Zacharia’s interview with Newsmax

Katie Zacharia, the ousted White House press secretary best known for her five-day stint under the Trump administration, made an appearance on Newsmax. Rob Finnerty, a forty-four-year-old anchor and host on the network, recently promoted the upcoming segment on his Threads account. Finnerty, who has more than four thousand followers on the platform, kept the caption simple.

“TONIGHT ON FINNERTY!!!!!”

Andy Cohen spotted the Threads post as well. The fifty-eight-year-old, who has more than two million followers on the platform, shared a quick reaction of his own. Cohen kept his response to a single line.

“This should be GRIPPING!!!!” shared Cohen.

(Andy Cohen's reaction is his own. It speaks to a politically charged media appearance. The opinions shared are done for the purpose of reporting.)

Zacharia had recently made headlines after opening up about the unexpected lessons her five days in the White House left her four kids with. Speaking from home, the conservative commentator said she would sooner endure public ridicule than go back on her sense of loyalty. Her appointment came to a sudden end on October 16, and she later revealed that her final evening in the role followed her eldest son’s birthday by just one day, closing out with a dinner alongside Vice President JD Vance.

“It was a tough night,” Zacharia told the California Post.

Katie Zacharia opens up about resistance she faced as an outsider during her short-lived White House run:

On Tuesday, Zacharia made her first television appearance since leaving the White House, sitting down with Finnerty on Newsmax. Coming in as an outsider, she told the show that the resistance she encountered from both the media and Washington made it near-impossible to do her job. She placed the blame directly on them.

“The media does not like outsiders and Washington, D.C., does not like outsiders,” Zacharia said.

Katie Zacharia then expanded on what that resistance actually cost her.

“The media and all of Washington made it very difficult for me to do the job I set out to do,” she added.

In her comments on Finnerty, Zacharia shared that going into the role, her intention had always been to draw attention to President Donald Trump’s record ahead of the November third midterm elections. Promoting his accomplishments was what she signed up for. Instead, she said, the resistance she encountered made that impossible.

(The claims above are Katie Zacharia's personal account of the pushback she says she faced in Washington. They reflect her stated perspective on her own tenure and are not presented here as independently verified fact.)

Katie Zacharia reveals surprise over Sean Hannity’s hostility:

Zacharia went into her Fox News appearances expecting familiar ground. Sean Hannity’s team had reached out to her earlier this year about potentially bringing her on as a California street correspondent, and she described their prior relationship as a friendly one. According to her comments on Finnerty, Hannity’s line of questioning homed in on her legal credentials and her failure to pass the bar examination.

“I’m just as perplexed about what happened, specifically with Sean Hannity,” she said.

She then added,

“I was not prepared for the hostility that I received.”

Zacharia also told Finnerty that she believed those Fox News appearances played a role in cutting her tenure short. When asked by host Rob Finnerty if she would still hold the role had she not appeared on Hannity’s program and Fox & Friends, she said:

“I would hope so, and I would likely think I would be, Rob, but I can’t know what would have happened otherwise, though it would be very likely.”

(The above reflects Zacharia’s personal account of events surrounding her departure. Her suggestion that the Fox News appearances contributed to her exit is her own stated view.)

Katie Zacharia praises Trump’s kindness:

On her last day as press secretary, Zacharia was already in a meeting with representatives from The Wall Street Journal. According to her comments on Finnerty, her intention had been to secure fair coverage of Trump’s midterm rally appearances, with plans to personally meet reporters at each one to offer her own take.

“The intention of setting that meeting was I wanted to secure positive or at least fair headlines for President Trump on these midterm rallies,” she said.

Despite the circumstances of her exit, Katie Zacharia had warm words for Trump and White House communications director Steven Cheung, noting that Trump had also publicly backed her around the time of her departure.

“He has been nothing but kind and gracious,” she said.

Asked whether she would serve him again, she did not hesitate.

“Absolutely. I would do so in a heartbeat,” she said.

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(The above reflects Zacharia’s personal views on her relationship with the president.)

The White House Press Secretary position is currently vacant following the departure of Katie Zacharia. And before her, Karoline Leavitt held the role from January 2025 until her resignation in August 2026.

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