{
  "id": 14951325,
  "title": "China tells Trump's press secretary to visit 'more often' after toilet comments",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/china-tells-trumps-press-secretary-to-visit-more-often-after-toilet-14951325",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T12:14:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1556992/china-tells-trumps-press-secretary-visit-more-often-after-toilet"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Beijing instructed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia to visit China more frequently following her comment that the nation lacked proper toilets mere days into her new role. This incident occurred less than a week after US President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, despite ongoing tensions between the two nations. Zacharia, who previously resided in China and is scheduled to travel there next month, reflected on past perceptions of China's economic ascendancy in an interview with right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec. She once remarked, \"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.'\" In response to her remarks, China's foreign ministry suggested that Zacharia consider additional visits to the country, stating that they would welcome her presence during her visit. Despite the strained relations between the US and China, Trump has frequently praised his relationship with Xi Jinping, with whom he has met twice this year. Zacharia's comments came shortly after her White House press corps debut, during which she struggled to answer basic questions and mistakenly referred to her husband as the president. The 41-year-old is currently under investigation regarding her legal qualifications, as she provided an ambiguous response about when she passed the bar exam, a requirement for practicing law in the United States.",
  "summary": "BEIJING: Beijing told White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia on Friday to visit China “more often” after she said the country lacked “proper toilets” less than a week into her new post.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 8,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "NDTV",
        "title": "\"Don't Have Proper Toilets\": Trump's New Press Secretary On Her Time In China",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/dont-have-proper-toilets-trumps-new-press-secretary-on-her-time-in",
        "published": "2026-10-16T08:15:45.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Trump’s new press secretary Katie Zacharia defends ‘lawyer’ title despite failing bar exam",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/trumps-new-press-secretary-katie-zacharia-defends-lawyer-title",
        "published": "2026-10-16T08:49:18.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "China tells Trump’s press secretary to visit more often after ‘proper toilets’ jibe",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/china-tells-trumps-press-secretary-to-visit-more-often-after-proper",
        "published": "2026-10-16T09:00:14.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "RTE News",
        "title": "New Trump press secretary says she did not pass bar exam",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/new-trump-press-secretary-says-she-did-not-pass-bar-exam",
        "published": "2026-10-16T09:21:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "China tells Trump’s press secretary to visit ‘more often’ after toilet comments",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/china-tells-trumps-press-secretary-to-visit-more-often-after-toilet",
        "published": "2026-10-16T09:57:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Trump's new press secretary admits failing bar exam",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/trumps-new-press-secretary-admits-failing-bar-exam",
        "published": "2026-10-16T10:12:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Trump’s new press secretary admits she failed bar exam",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/trumps-new-press-secretary-admits-she-failed-bar-exam",
        "published": "2026-10-16T10:42:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}