Surprise Favorites Emerge to Replace Fired MAGA Mouthpiece
A former pageant queen, a CNN pundit, and even Laura Loomer are among the names bettors are backing.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
Favorites to replace Katie Zacharia, President Donald Trump’s short-lived MAGA mouthpiece, are emerging.
Anna Kelly, a former beauty pageant winner who served as deputy press secretary under both Karoline Leavitt and Zacharia, whose tenure lasted just five days, is an early favorite to land the gig, according to Kalshi.
Anna Kelly, left, was the deputy to former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Anna Kelly/X
The prediction market gave Kelly, a 29-year-old redhead, a 25 percent chance of becoming the next face of the Trump White House, succeeding a trio of blondes that stretches back to Kayleigh McEnany at the end of Trump’s first term.
Kelly was followed by CNN’s token MAGA pundit, Scott Jennings, who had a 20 percent chance as of early Friday afternoon on Kalshi.
The early favorites to succeed Katie Zacharia as press secretary.
Kalshi
Next in the rankings were MAGA 1.0 deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley, 50, at 16 percent; podcast host Katie Miller, 35, at 12 percent; former Trump communications aide Harrison Fields, 31, at nine percent; former RNC spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez, 37, at eight percent; and U.S. chief of protocol Monica Crowley, 58, also at eight percent.
The betting comes in the immediate aftermath of Trump, 80, pulling the plug on Zacharia after she fled her first press briefing following just three softball questions, her law credentials were exposed as a farce, and she made a bumbling appearance on Sean Hannity’s show.
Far-right provocateur Laura Loomer, who traveled with the president on Air Force One as recently as this month, has pitched herself for the job, writing on X, “Hear me out: Press Secretary Laura Loomer.”
The 33-year-old was given a three percent chance on Kalshi, which is offering odds for a laundry list of 52 names, plus the option of “no new press secretary.”
Laura Loomer has her own idea of who she'd like to see as White House press secretary.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Other long-shot possibilities include the potential return of Leavitt, now a contributor at Fox News, and McEnany, who hosts her own show on the network.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The list also includes the president’s Fox News host daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, and recently ousted Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. Rounding out the long shots are Fox and Friends co-host (and wife of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy) Rachel Campos-Duffy; one-time Trump lawyer Alina Habba; newly hired assistant White House Press Secretary Beni Rae Harmony; and even Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…