Katie Zacharia is again angling for the White House press secretary job she lost after just five days, according to multiple sources close to President Trump.
Zacharia, who became the shortest-serving press secretary in modern history last month, has been working to charm Trump and new chief of staff Stephen Miller into giving her another shot at the podium, three sources close to the president told The Post. Her latest apparent audition came last Tuesday, when she anchored Right Side Broadcasting Network’s election-night coverage in a calculated bid to catch Trump’s eye.
“She said it out loud,” a source familiar with the jockeying said. “It’s absurd. Truly embarrassing.”
Someone who spoke to Zacharia this week offered a different account, saying she claimed afterward she was only joking about using the RSBN appearance to regain the post. But other prominent sources noted that Zacharia originally landed the job by appearing on programs Trump was likely to watch, and they see a familiar pattern emerging.
The former press secretary was spotted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort over the weekend as the president prepared for more staff changes following his replacement of Susie Wiles with Miller. That shakeup came in the wake of congressional Republicans suffering a landslide election defeat on Tuesday. With the press secretary role still vacant, Zacharia was observed “staring at [Trump] trying to get his attention” Saturday on the ritzy Palm Beach club’s patio.
“She will never go back. [Trump] thinks she’s a joke. She has zero chance of that,” this person said. “He has been saying she’s a train wreck.”
A White House official delivered an even harsher assessment.
“She never stopped. She’s psychotic. She thinks she did a good job at her one briefing,” the official said.
Zacharia has publicly gushed over Miller and praised his role leading a mass deportation campaign in Trump’s second term, drawing further intrigue into her intentions. Yet those close to her offer contradictory accounts of her ambitions.
A source close to Zacharia said she claims not to be interested in regaining the job and is “focused on defending free speech and supporting the president’s priorities through other mediums.”
A different person close to her added, “I am 1,000% certain Katie Zacharia has no interest in going and being the press secretary at the White House.”
The skepticism within Trump’s orbit runs deep. Administration sources said the notion of Zacharia returning is farcical after she stumbled during her only White House briefing, which lasted just 14 minutes, before similarly struggling in Fox News interviews with Sean Hannity and “Fox & Friends.” Fellow White House aides were infuriated by her suggestion to Hannity that her briefing performance was due to insufficient preparation by subordinates.
One White House official scoffed that Zacharia’s return won’t happen in “a million years.”
The reaction to her attempted comeback has blended mockery with disbelief.
“I’ve given birth without drugs and I still can’t imagine that level of pain tolerance,” one official quipped.
Others believed to be putting themselves forward for the vacant role include Caroline Sunshine, a former Disney Channel actress who served in Trump’s first term, who a source said “keeps calling and trying to get meetings with [Trump].”
Zacharia’s original hiring and rapid downfall came after she impressed Trump with television appearances, only to flame out in her single briefing where she struggled to handle basic questions. The press secretary post has remained unfilled since her departure.
