Katie Zacharia Blames Media For Her Firing, 'Perplexed' by Sean Hannity's Hostility

Katie Zacharia is blaming the media and D.C. politics for her abrupt firing as White House press secretary ... and she says she was "perplexed" when Fox News host Sean Hannity grilled her over her legal credentials.

Talking with Newsmax's Robert Finnerty in her first TV sit-down after getting canned, Katie said ... "The media does not like outsiders and Washington, D.C., does not like outsiders."

She added ... "The media and all of Washington made it very difficult for me to do the job I set out to do." 

Katie also said she "would likely" still be press secretary had she not gone on "Hannity" and "Fox & Friends" before her firing.

She told Robert she was "perplexed about what happened, specifically with Sean Hannity" ... and that she "was not prepared for the hostility that I received."

As you know ... Hannity had a tense interview with Katie where he demanded answers to her bar exam controversy and her status as a lawyer -- after she revealed she never passed the exam.

So, for Katie, it's Hannity's fault for asking her why she lied about being a lawyer ... and she shoulders no blame.

Sean has since spoken out about how Katie framed his interview.

He told The Hollywood Reporter ... "My audience knows exactly where I stand, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to ask tough questions when they’re warranted. I gave her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and let the audience judge for themselves. I assumed she would take advantage of the opportunity and put all of this to rest before the next briefing."

He added ... "I’ve been doing this long enough to know that people will have strong reactions. My job is to ask the questions, get answers and let the audience decide for themselves. I allowed her a lot of time uninterrupted for her to answer."

Katie was fired on her fifth day on the job ... and she ended her gig with just one press briefing to her name.

She was mid-interview with the Wall Street Journal when she was shown the door. According to the WSJ's account of the awkward experience, Katie was at her desk when a senior Trump adviser told her that Vice President JD Vance wanted to speak with her.