Katie Zacharia says she’s proud of her brief, if highly scrutinized, stint as White House press secretary and insists she’ll continue to support President Donald Trump even though her tenure in his administration was short-lived.

Zacharia, who has since returned to her home state of California, spoke about her experience in a conversation with California Post opinion editor Joel Pollak published Monday in the New York Post.

“Answering the president’s call to serve was an honor, and my kids were able to see their mom step up for one of the most sought-after jobs in the world,” the mother of four told Pollak. “I’m proud I said yes, stood firm in what I believe, and kept supporting the president even when the circumstances weren’t ideal for me — showing my children what courage looks like in the face of criticism.”

Trump confirmed Oct. 9 that he’d selected Zacharia, a conservative commentator who earlier this year spent about two months as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, as former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s successor.

The announcement came as a surprise to members of Trump’s MAGA base, given that the president was reportedly considering a host of predominantly male contenders, including conservative CNN contributor Scott Jennings and Breitbart’s Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle. Also among the names floated in the media was Ari Fleischer, who previously served as White House press secretary under former President George W. Bush.

At her first press briefing Oct. 13, however, Zacharia appeared uncomfortable, spending eight minutes reading haltingly from a script and calling on just three reporters, all from MAGA-friendly outlets.

It wasn’t long before critics on both sides of the political aisle began questioning Zacharia’s legal background and work experience. Just two days after the briefing, Zacharia acknowledged she’d never passed a bar exam in spite of having advertised herself as a “lawyer” on her social media.

Though Trump argued that Zacharia had been “treated very unfairly” by the media, he confirmed her departure Oct. 16.

“I said to her, ‘Honestly, if I were you ... I’d reconsider. You think about it. But I would reconsider,’” he told reporters at the White House last Friday.

As for questions about Zacharia’s credentials, the president noted: “I wasn’t hiring her as a lawyer. ... She’s been loyal to me from Day 1 for a long time. But it’s not an easy job.”

In exiting the job after just five days, Zacharia is believed to have set a record for the shortest tenure of a White House press secretary, second only to Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted 10 days during Trump’s first term.

Still, with speculation over her successor ramping up, Zacharia told Pollak this week she’s looking to her future with optimism ― and only positive takeaways from her experience.

“The biggest lessons are to stay true to your character,” she said, “focus on the work in front of you, and refuse to be defined by the critics.”

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