Katie Zacharia Is Out After Half a Scaramucci

Win McNamee/Getty Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider. Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this.” Within minutes of President Trump telling reporters that he had effectively encouraged Katie Zacharia, his new press secretary, after only five days on the job, to step down amid widespread ridicule over her job performance, the New York Times reported that Zacharia had already been fired. The unceremonious ouster sets a new record for the Trump administration, besting Anthony Scaramucci’s fleeting, 10-day tenure as press secretary during Trump’s first White House. It follows a brutal first-day performance at the podium on Monday, followed by an equally disastrous appearance on Sean Hannity’s show. All against mounting questions about her claims of being a lawyer despite never passing the bar. So how did she manage to even get the job in the first place? As I wrote earlier today: In hopes of replacing Karoline Leavitt, [Zacharia] reportedly cross-referenced the president’s public schedule to book her TV spots, just to make sure that Trump would be watching. Clearly, it worked: On October 9, after weeks of these logistical gymnastics, Trump named Zacharia to the post. The firing once again demonstrates a singular truth: Aesthetics may be an entry point to power. But against the backdrop of a wider misogyny, they only leave a trail of crusty lashes and hair extensions. In other words, Mar-a-Lago face will never save you.