Katie Zacharia, who briefly served as White House press secretary last month, repeatedly redirected questions about the 2026 midterm election results during an interview on the BBC’s “Newsnight,” focusing instead on an ongoing Senate race in Alaska.
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who → serve → Alaska
During the interview, presenter Victoria Derbyshire asked Zacharia about statements made by President Donald Trump following election losses that handed control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate to Democrats.
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that → ask → Democrats
Derbyshire noted that Trump had initially expressed a desire to work with congressional Democrats before raising concerns about election integrity days later.
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Trump → note → integrity
In response, Zacharia raised questions about the Senate contest in Alaska, where the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan Sullivan, faces a challenge from Mary Peltola, a Democrat, as well as an independent candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan.
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incumbent → raise → Peltola
"Do you think that Dan Sullivan in Alaska is fair?" Zacharia asked.
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Zacharia → think → Alaska
Derbyshire questioned why Vice President JD Vance did not cite the Alaska contest in a recent social media post attributing the Republican Party’s midterms performance to the war in Iran.
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Vance → question → Iran
"Why didn’t JD Vance mention the Sullivans and Alaska?" Derbyshire asked.
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Derbyshire → mention → Sullivans
"Does questioning if the election was honest mean that the president is now at odds with his vice president, who clearly said, in a long social media post, it was because of the Iran war, why Republicans lost?"
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Republicans → question → war
Zacharia said that Derbyshire was avoiding the subject of the Alaska ballot structure.
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Derbyshire → say → structure
"You don’t want to answer the question because you know it’s not fair," Zacharia said.
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Zacharia → want → question
"You know that, that was a set-up!
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that → know → ?
It is so clearly a set-up, and that is why it is being investigated right now.
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it → investigate → ?
“And that should be across the pond being questioned just as much as anywhere else in the world.
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that → question → world
Republicans have asserted that the presence of the independent candidate was intended to confuse voters.
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presence → assert → voters
Allegations of Democratic involvement in the independent candidate’s campaign have been denied.
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Allegations → deny → campaign
As ballot counting continued Wednesday morning with 84 percent of votes tabulated, Peltola’s lead exceeded the combined vote totals of both other candidates on the ballot.
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lead → continue → ballot
When Derbyshire attempted to return to Vance’s comments regarding the Iran conflict, Zacharia asked: "Who put Dan S. Sullivan on that ballot?
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Who → attempt → ballot
Who did that?"
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Who → do → that
She added: "The New York Times had an answer.
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Times → add → answer
Did you read that?
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you → read → that
Did you read what The New York Times came out with?
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Times → read → what
Zacharia also addressed potential policy differences within the administration.
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Zacharia → address → administration
“The president has been very clear; there is not any kind of ‘at odds’ right now,” she said.
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she → be → odds
“He made those statements very clear, both in his interview and across the board.
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statements → make → board
Any kind of insinuation that there’s this massive division happening is not actually understanding the relationship between the president and the vice president.
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kind → ’ → president
The exchange also covered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was the subject of an impeachment resolution introduced by Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, over the administration’s authorization of military action in Iran.
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who → cover → Iran
House Republicans voted 211 to 204 on Tuesday to refer the eight articles of impeachment to committee, effectively blocking the measure from reaching the House floor.
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Republicans → vote → floor
In the interview, recorded prior to the vote, Derbyshire asked whether Hegseth should resign to relieve political pressure on the White House.
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Hegseth → record → House
"Pete Hegseth should absolutely not resign," Zacharia said.
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Zacharia → resign → ?
"He’s been a wonderful secretary of war, and he absolutely did what any other secretary of war or secretary of defense would do in these circumstances."
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secretary → do → circumstances
She added: "And history will prove that not only President Trump, but also Secretary Hegseth will be thanked for ensuring the U.K. and the rest of the world won’t have to deal with nuclearized Iran."
Derbyshire also asked whether the midterm results indicated that Trump had lost political momentum.
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Trump → add → momentum
Zacharia rejected the characterization, citing historical trends where the sitting president's party typically loses congressional seats during midterm cycles.
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party → reject → cycles
"Regardless of the outcome, he is the fighter in chief," Zacharia said, describing the midterms as "not even a setback" for the president.
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Zacharia → say → president
"Absolutely not a loser,” she said.
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she → say → ?
Zacharia served five days as press secretary in October before being replaced following a 14-minute briefing in which she took questions from three news organizations.
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she → serve → organizations
The position has remained vacant since Karoline Leavitt stepped down in August.
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Leavitt → remain → August
The Aporia
