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'I WISH HER WELL'

Scaramucci Weighs In on New Trump Mouthpiece’s Survival Odds

The former White House communications director served for a mere 11 days.

Reporters raise their hands to ask questions as the new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia holds her first press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 13, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said the “clock is running” on Katie Zacharia’s tenure as press secretary after a rocky Tuesday debut.

“Thus far 1/11th of a Scaramucci,” he wrote in a post on X, referencing his own notoriously short term.

Scaramucci, who served just 11 days in President Donald Trump’s first administration, also shared a meme comparing Zacharia’s time in office to a head of lettuce’s shelf life.

“I want her to get past the lettuce,” he said in the caption.

Scaramucci addresses whether Zacharia will last longer than a head of lettuce.

Scaramucci said he wants to see Zacharina last in the press secretary position.

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Scaramucci was fired in July 2017, days after he gave an expletive-laden rant to a New Yorker reporter, mistakenly believing it was off the record.

Since then, he has become a vocal Trump critic and a co-host of “The Rest is Politics” podcast with journalist Katty Kay.

After a commenter suggested he was being rude to Zacharia, Scaramucci insisted he “[wished] her well.”

Then White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci

Scaramucci served just 11 days in President Donald Trump’s first administration.

REUTERS

“The administration is an abomination, but I don’t wish for her demise,” he said. “As an American, I am exercising my right to explain how damaging they are to their fellow Americans and the world. But I don’t want to see her fired. However, that is a job where you have to lie.”

Zacharia’s first outing as press secretary drew criticism from both administration insiders and critics, who pointed out her stilted performance and heavy reliance on a script during an unusually short 14-minute briefing.

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At one point, she also appeared to confuse her husband with the president.

Reporters also pressed Zacharia, who claims to be an attorney, on her legal background. She refused to say where she passed the bar exam, saying only that she did it when she moved to China.

“I practiced international transactional law, with all the appropriate credentials,” she told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns.

China’s bar exam is off-limits to foreigners, and no U.S. bar exams are administered in China.

Independent journalist Judd Legum reported that no evidence shows Zacharia, a graduate of Pepperdine University’s law school, has ever passed a bar exam or been admitted to the bar in any state.

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

At her first briefing, the 42-year-old mother of four told reporters her family will "always be a priority."

Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

After the press briefing, traders took to prediction markets to bet on when Zacharia would get the axe. On Kalshi, bettors predicted a 94-percent chance she will be out of her role by the beginning of November.

The White House has not announced a date or a time for Zacharia’s next press briefing.

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