Katie Zacharia has spoken out about Americans planning to dress as her for Halloween.
The former White House press secretary, who served just five days in the Trump administration before stepping down, told Newsmax on October 27 that she finds the costume idea “absolutely hilarious.” Zacharia, a mother of four, revealed her family plans to participate in the trend themselves.
“I hope you do dress up as me because it’s absolutely hilarious,” she shared during the Newsmax interview. “We will be dressing up as a family. I will wear the OG costume and stay tuned what my kids will be.”
Zacharia has even expressed disappointment that retailers have not capitalized on her sudden fame. On her Instagram Story, she posted footage from Spirit Halloween stores and lamented that they do not offer a “former press secretary” costume option.
The brief stint made Zacharia the shortest-serving White House press secretary in history, surpassing Anthony Scaramucci’s previous record of 11 days. Reports first emerged on October 16 that Donald Trump had suggested she step down. She confirmed her departure the following day.
“It was an honor to work for him,” Zacharia wrote on Twitter at the time.
Her full Twitter statement praised the president in effusive terms: “President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to.”
Trump himself addressed her exit during subsequent remarks, offering a mixed assessment of her brief tenure. He described her as “a perfect, beautiful woman” who “freaked out” when confronted by aggressive press corps members.
“No wonder that poor young woman, she was a perfect, beautiful woman when she walked into that press room and they started screaming at her, she freaked out,” the president said.
During the same Newsmax appearance, Zacharia took aim at online critics who had questioned her appearance. She insisted her blonde hair is entirely natural and denied ever using extensions or dye.
“I have never used extensions,” she fired back. “This is my real hair. There was a lot of dragging me online. I’ve never actually dyed my hair.”
She added a cryptic note about her maintenance routine: “I do have a trick to keeping in blonde. But it’s not dye so you can’t find it in a box.”
No replacement for Zacharia has been officially announced, though White House Communications Director Steven Cheung jokingly floated an unlikely candidate on Twitter. Alongside a video of himself with Nicki Minaj, Cheung wrote: “Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found the new White House Press Secretary!”
Zacharia’s first and only press briefing on October 21 lasted eight minutes, during which she read from a script and called on just three reporters. The limited engagement drew immediate scrutiny and set the stage for her rapid departure from the role.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Wisconsin.