'The View' Stars Blame Donald Trump for Katie Zacharia Fiasco: 'They Didn't Do a Background Check'

During the Monday, October 19, episode of The View, the co-hosts blamed President Donald Trump for failing to vet and perform due diligence on his short-lived White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia.

Zacharia was ousted after just five days, following a heavily criticized debut briefing and revelations she had misrepresented herself as a lawyer despite never passing the bar exam.

Ana Navarro directed the blame entirely at Trump, adding that he hired her without an audition, background check or consulting his Chief of Staff.

“The way she got the job was by looking like press secretary Barbie and kissing his a-- on Fox News. The educational requirements have nothing to do with the job of press secretary," Navarro explained. "She could’ve claimed to be an acupuncturist or an astronaut or an astrophysicist, but if she had gone out there and slayed, if she had owned that podium, if she had performed great, nobody would care what she was claiming to be. I place this all on Donald Trump."

Former Trump communications staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin noted that the administration clearly skipped a basic background check, which would have instantly exposed her educational discrepancies.

“The easiest part of the job is going into the briefing room and answering questions from the press corps,” she admitted. “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.”

She joked that Zacharia's five-day tenure lasted only "half a Scaramucci,” referencing former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, whose 11-day tenure in the first Trump administration has become the benchmark for ephemeral White House staffers.

“To Ana’s point, this is not on her,” Griffin added. “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 education background. It’s starting to feel like late 2020, where the wheels are falling off, and things are about to get real scary, and I really hope that’s not the case.”

Sara Haines questioned the logic of the appointment, asking, “Who vetted her? You’re sending her out to answer questions for people. Why not ask a few questions yourself? 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.”

Sunny Hostin agreed Trump was to blame for the lack of vetting, but emphasized that Zacharia deserved severe criticism for repeatedly calling herself an attorney.

“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 warned. “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 concluded by placing the blame squarely on Zacharia for passing herself off as a licensed attorney, but said she was relieved she was gone.

“It can’t come as a shock because [Trump] doesn’t tell the truth. 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," the actress expressed. "I wanna say, I’m glad she’s gone. It’ll be interesting to see who replaces her.”

Goldberg joked that “the rapper [Trump] likes," Nicki Minaj, could take the job, prompting Navarro to point out, “He likes blondes, so maybe Kid Rock.”

Griffin noted the “terrifying” prospect of conspiracy theorist MAGA influencer and so-called “Trump Whisperer” Laura Loomer becoming the next press secretary.

“There’s a lot of people who are not qualified for this job who could take the post,” Goldberg said.

Griffin said CNN’s conservative pundit Scott Jennings could work, but joked, “We’d have to get him a blonde wig first.”

Navarro disagreed, adding, “Scott Jennings is having the time of his life. He’s wearing Rolexes for the first time in his life, he’s making more money than he has in all his life, and he loves being the guy that everybody loves to hate on CNN.”