New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia says the “legacy media” is making her an unnecessary subject of conversation, pushing back against intensifying scrutiny of her professional credentials.

The scrutiny lands on a role where personal credibility is central: the press secretary serves as the administration's chief spokesperson, fielding questions from the White House press corps and speaking for the president in real time — a job that puts the spokesperson's own record squarely in public view alongside the administration's message.

She made the comments when asked about the pointed questions she fielded from Fox News host Sean Hannity. During Friday's edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Ainsley Earhardt raised the interview, in which Hannity pressed her on her inaugural press conference and the mounting questions about whether she has passed the U.S. bar exam.

Multiple media outlets have questioned the validity of Zacharia's credentials. A Wall Street Journal exclusive reports that Zacharia allegedly never passed the bar exam, despite referring to herself as a lawyer in public appearances. Passing a state bar exam is the standard licensing requirement for practicing law in the United States, which is why the question bears directly on how she has presented herself. According to the report, she failed the California bar exam before relocating to Beijing, where she joined the Chinese law firm Zhong Lun Law Firm as an associate on its international practice team. During her tenure there, other lawyers reportedly told her that her prior experience qualified her to provide legal analysis.

“I was watching your interview last night on Sean's show, and God bless you because it's — other than the president, I think it would be the hardest job because you have to know all the facts, you have to speak off the cuff, and you were just thrown into this role. Is there anything that you would say differently or clarify differently on Sean's interview last night or the White House briefing, your first briefing, anything you would do differently?” Earhardt asked Zacharia.

Zacharia did not mince words in her response, saying the focus on her and her credentials is an attempt to deflect attention from the actual issues.

“You know, I'm just so grateful to be here, and I'm really looking forward to being an asset to President Trump and focusing on what he's doing for the American people,” she said. “And the legacy media wants to put the focus and attention to me because they want to be distracted; they want to be distracted from the major wins that President Trump is making for America. So I'm looking forward to the next week. It is a blitz week. He is traveling almost every single day for huge packed rallies and that is what I'm looking forward to.”

When asked whether she is confident in her ability to perform well under such intense pressure, Zacharia said she believes she will earn the confidence of the president and her colleagues over time.

“I'm standing here, and I was able to travel with him through all of the midterm convention — or, excuse me — the midterm rallies, and I hope to be able to build the trust and confidence of everyone around me,” she said. The “blitz week” she pointed to, with the president traveling almost every day for packed rallies, will be her first extended stretch in the role with those credential questions still hanging over her early tenure.