Fact Check: Did Trump announce George Santos as the new White House press secretary?

WASHINGTON, DC: Following the abrupt departure of Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary, a claim began circulating on social media platforms that President Donald Trump has announced former Congressman and convicted fraudster George Santos as the new press secretary. The claim has sparked speculation, requiring a fact-check.

Claim: Trump announced George Santos as Katie Zacharia's replacement

According to a viral Facebook post, Trump announced that Zacharia’s replacement would be the former New York Representative Santos. 

As per the post, while speaking to reporters, Santos apparently said he was “thrilled” by the appointment, vowing, “I will bring to this job my experience not only as a lawyer, but as a doctor and astronaut.” 

It went on to say that, as for Zacharia, in her parting statement she said she was leaving “to spend more time with my children, who will teach me to read.” 

The post has garnered tens of thousands of views as of this writing, with many appearing to believe the claim while a few others remained skeptical and called for a fact check.

Fact Check: Trump made no such announcement

Although Zacharia was ousted as press secretary on Friday, October 16, after just five days in the role, following a turbulent debut and mounting questions about her professional credentials, there is no evidence of Trump announcing Santos as the new press secretary.

There are no new announcements, statements, press conferences, or social media posts from the president or the White House about Santos being appointed as the new press secretary.

If the claim were true, prominent news media outlets would have widely covered it, making headlines. But a search on Google for the claim yielded no credible news reports.

Additionally, the claim was posted by a Facebook account called Andy Borowitz, which is the official page of an online satirical newspaper called The Borowitz Report. Hence, the claim is rated as satire made for the sake of engagement.

Katie Zacharia short tenure as White House press secretary

The claim surfaced after Trump said that he had urged Zacharia to reconsider the position amid intense media scrutiny. 

Zacharia’s exit leaves the White House without its top spokesperson, while Trump said he was in no rush to appoint a replacement. 

Zacharia’s tenure began on Monday, October 12, and she held her first White House press briefing the following day, which lasted approximately 14 minutes. During the briefing, she took just three questions from reporters and relied on notes while discussing the administration’s accomplishments.  

Zacharia’s performance quickly drew speculation about her background, which intensified after she was asked where she had passed the bar exam, to which the press secretary replied, “When I was in China.”