Victoria Derbyshire struggles to keep it together on Newsnight as guest has live meltdown

Detailed summary

Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire visibly smirked as she struggled not to laugh as former White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia had a meltdown as she interviewed her.…

Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire visibly smirked as she struggled not to laugh as former White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia had a meltdown as she interviewed her. The BBC presenter put a question about Vice President JD Vance to Zacharia, who lasted just four days in the high profile role. Derbyshire asked: "Why didn't J.D. Vance mention the Sullivan's and Alaska?" She was referring to the fact Vance fiercely criticised the appearance of two candidates named Dan Sullivan on Alaska's ballot in the lead-up to the 2026 U.S. Senate midterm election. He had campaigned in Alaska for the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan.

During the campaign he condemned the independent candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher with no prior political experience. Vance went so far as to label it "electoral fraud" and a "moral failing".

Instead of a straight answer Zacharia, who had already been declaring it "not fair" and asking Derbyshire if she thought it was fair, had a meltdown - much to Derbyshire's amusment.

"You don't want to answer the question because you know it's not fair," she told her.

"You know that that was a setup. It is so clearly a setup, and that is why it is being investigated right now," Zacharia ranted as Derbyshire tried to remain professional.

"And that should be, across the pond, being questioned just as much as anywhere else in the world," she continued her tirade.

"This is not some random obscurity. This is two Dan Sullivans that were on the ballot in Alaska. But that needs to be looked at? Who put Dan S. Sullivan on that ballot? Who did that?"

Derbyshire attempted to interject and ask a question about Donald Trump but Zacharia was having none of it.

"The New York Times had an answer. Did you read that? Did you read who who what the New York Times came out with? Yes or no?" she said over the presenter.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Daily Express. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.