Karoline Leavitt
Karoline Leavitt has announced that she’s helping President Donald Trump find the next White House press secretary. Her revelation comes after her successor, Katie Zacharia, was ousted after just five days on the job following a disastrous inaugural press conference in which she struggled to answer questions and reportedly misled the public about her credentials as a lawyer.
Speaking exclusively with FOX News Digital, Leavitt said that the role is a “tough job” that takes “a lot of preparation,” adding that it can be difficult to wager how someone will perform until they are actually faced with the task. “As the president said, we wish Katie the best. The job, obviously, wasn’t for her. But we wish her and her family well,” Leavitt added. Leavitt says the job requires someone who is “tough, smart, understands his policies,” and who is “loyal.”
Not everyone is taking kindly to her lending a helping hand, arguing the qualifications needed to be a good press secretary aren’t the ones she listed. Washington Sun columnist responded to the video on X, writing, “Agree. Katie was not mean enough — and was not a good enough liar for this particular job in this particular admin. There’s no room for someone who isn’t a truly brilliant liar at this point in the term.” One X user even joked, "You have to be dead behind the eyes to lie like Leavitt."
Bryan Jones, former radio host turned political and cultural writer, wrote on X, "Scott Jennings is the obvious pick for press secretary. He’s the only person besides Leavitt with both the rhetorical skills and the complete absence of shame required to publicly dickride whatever line he’s handed. If he’s not hired, it’s probably because someone in the room said, 'But secretary is a woman’s job.'" PolyMarket shared a posting for the job on its X account, seemingly encouraging users to bet on who they think will be the next selection for the role.
Following her exit, Zacharia told The California Post that she had no regrets about her brief tenure with Trump’s administration. “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,” she said, per The New York Post. Trump reportedly told advisors during a secret meeting that Zacharia lacked talent and that he was embarrassed by her debut performance. Her press conference lasted just 14 minutes, and she was heavily criticized when it was discovered she did not pass the bar to become a lawyer in the U.S., saying she’d done so in China.
Zacharia’s five days as press secretary made history as the shortest stint ever for a Trump hire. The previous record was set by White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted just 11 days before being canned in 2017. Trump reportedly did not confer with his chief of staff regarding hiring Zacharia, and instead, she was handpicked by him with an on-the-spot job offer. He later said that she did not need the headache of dealing with public attacks and that he encouraged her to quit.