Newly appointed Trump spokesman sparks controversy with China toilet remark

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, recently appointed, has stirred controversy with remarks about China's infrastructure and ambiguity regarding her legal credentials.

Her comments on China's "proper toilets" and her legal qualifications have drawn scrutiny, overshadowing her recent ascent to the role.

Zacharia, who has past experience in China, expressed skepticism about China's growth potential in an interview with Jack Posobiec.

She has yet to provide detailed affirmations of her legal qualifications but cited personal circumstances affecting her career trajectory.

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 — White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, who was appointed less than a week ago, said China lacked “proper toilets” in an interview that aired yesterday.

Zacharia, 41, is already under scrutiny over her legal credentials, after giving an inconclusive answer about where she had passed the bar exam, a prerequisite for practicing law in the United States.

The press secretary, who previously lived in China, recalled in an interview that the perception in 2016 was that China would soon overtake the United States.

“We were all being told Hillary (Clinton) was going to win. The golden days or the glory days of America were over. That China was on the horizon,” Zacharia told right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec.

“I remember this very distinctly, having just come from China, thinking, ‘How is China the next country on the horizon? They don’t even have proper toilets,” she added.

There was no immediate comment from Chinese authorities.

Trump has boasted about his “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During a Washington summit in September, the two leaders discussed topics ranging from AI and trade to the stalled war in Iran, and confirmed that they would meet for a third and fourth time this year.

Zacharia held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday and only answered questions from three journalists.

She succeeded Karoline Leavitt, a loyal Trump supporter and often combative spokesman, who stepped down in August to care for her young children.

Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer and listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit. She also said she had worked at a law firm in Beijing.

Asked about her legal background on Thursday, Zacharia said she had registered to take the bar exam but was then “distracted and overwhelmed” by plans to move with her husband to China.

Zacharia said that she did not retake the bar exam upon returning to the United States due to the birth of her first child. — AFP

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新近上任的白宫新闻秘书凯蒂·扎卡里亚因其对中国基础设施的言论以及对其法律资质的含糊其辞而引发争议。

她对中国“正规厕所”的评论以及她的法律资质引起了人们的关注，掩盖了她最近晋升到这一职位的事实。

扎卡里亚曾在中国有过工作经验，他在接受杰克·波索比克采访时对中国的增长潜力表示怀疑。

她尚未提供详细的法律资格证明，但提到了影响其职业发展的个人情况。

华盛顿，10 月 16 日——白宫新闻秘书凯蒂·扎卡里亚上任不到一周，她在昨天播出的一次采访中表示，中国缺乏“像样的厕所”。

41岁的扎卡里亚的法律资格已经受到审查，因为她对在哪里通过律师资格考试（在美国执业的先决条件）给出了模棱两可的回答。

这位曾在中国生活过的新闻秘书在一次采访中回忆说，2016 年人们普遍认为中国很快就会超越美国。

“我们都被告知希拉里（克林顿）会赢。美国的黄金时代或辉煌时代已经结束了。中国即将崛起，”扎卡里亚告诉右翼影响者杰克·波索比克。

“我清楚地记得当时的情景，我刚从中国回来，心想，‘中国怎么会是下一个要去的国家？他们连像样的厕所都没有，’”她补充道。

中国官方尚未对此发表评论。

特朗普曾吹嘘他与中国国家主席习近平的“良好关系”。

在9月份于华盛顿举行的峰会上，两位领导人讨论了从人工智能和贸易到伊朗战争僵局等一系列议题，并确认他们将于今年举行第三次和第四次会晤。

扎卡里亚周二举行了她在白宫的首次新闻发布会，但只回答了三位记者的提问。

她接替了卡罗琳·莱维特（Karoline Leavitt）的职位，莱维特是特朗普的忠实支持者，也是一位经常好斗的发言人，她于 8 月辞职照顾年幼的孩子。

扎卡里亚自称是一名律师，并表示自己是加州一家保守派非营利组织的法律总顾问。她还说自己曾在北京一家律师事务所工作过。

周四，当被问及她的法律背景时，扎卡里亚表示，她已经报名参加律师资格考试，但后来因为计划和丈夫一起搬到中国而“分心和不知所措”。

扎卡里亚表示，她返回美国后没有重考律师资格考试，因为她的第一个孩子出生了。——法新社

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