Trump-pardoned conspiracist vies for new gig as White House press secretary

New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia listens to US President Donald Trump speaking to the media as he departs the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 13, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

It looks like a former associate of The Real Housewives of Atlanta is following in the footsteps of President Donald Trump’s reality-star-to-political-figure pipeline. Dayt after Katie Zacharia was axed from her job as the White House press secretary after just five days in the role, Angela Stanton-King is putting in her bid for the position.

Stanton-King has ties to Trump. She was granted a full pardon by the president in 2020 after being convicted and serving time for her role in a car theft ring. Since her release, Stanton-King has become a public advocate for criminal justice reform, sharing her personal trauma of giving birth while incarcerated and handcuffed, which has resulted in legislative efforts centered on the treatment of pregnant women in custody.

In a post on Threads, Stanton-King says the White House needs a spokesperson who will unapologetically defend the president. She says she’s the right candidate for the job. “At the end of the day, what the White House needs is a Press Secretary who’s not afraid to STAND on the truth, SPEAK the truth, has common sense, a sharp tongue, and ZERO tolerance for bulls——,” she wrote on the social media platform. “No scripts. No sugarcoating. No backing down,” she continued. She then directed her attention specifically to Trump, writing, “President Trump, appoint ME. I promise I’ll get the job DONE,” Stanton-King wrote, predicting that her appointment would make headlines and that “the group chats would be in SHAMBLES.” The post was accompanied by what seems to be an AI-generated photo of Stanton-King at the podium in the White House briefing room.

This wouldn’t be Stanton-King’s first shot at political office. She ran as a Republican in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District in 2020, initially challenging the late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis. After Lewis’ death, Democrat Nikema Williams became the party’s nominee and won the general election. As of now, no permanent replacement for Zacharia has been announced.

Stanton-King ties to The Real Housewives of Atlanta date back to the early 2010s. One of her co-conspirators in her theft crimes was cast member Phaedra Parks’ husband, Apollo Nida, who was also convicted and sentenced in the case. But Stanton-King says Parks, an attorney by trade, was also involved in the crimes. In 2013, Stanton-King published a tell-all book titled Lies of a Real Housewife: Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil, where she accused Parks and Nida of running a white-collar criminal enterprise involving fake bank accounts and bad checks, naming Parks as the orchestrator of the schemes. Parks denies any involvement and insists she was unaware of Nida’s criminal behavior during their marriage.

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