New White House press secretary: Trump picks loyalist Zakharia

The White House has a new press secretary: Zakharia, a longtime supporter of Donald Trump. Announcing the appointment, the president called her a “loyal and magnificent” supporter and added that she had taken part in his election campaigns in key states. According to Trump, as quoted by Time magazine, she is also a “devoted fan and member of MAGA”, the movement of his supporters named after the slogan “Make America Great Again”.

Zakharia herself called the appointment a great honor. “President Trump has shown that America can be great again, and he works on it every day. His confidence is a true privilege, and his leadership is a blessing for this country,” she wrote on X.

Until now, Zakharia has worked as a communications adviser at Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns the president’s social network Truth Social. She earlier briefly served as press secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security and appeared as a political commentator on the conservative TV channels Fox News and Newsmax. She received her law degree at Pepperdine University.

A few months ago, in an interview with CNN, she described herself as a strong supporter of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the border police. Both agencies carry out the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policy and have come under criticism over raids and operations in which, critics say, people with legal status or valid documents were also affected.

Zakharia’s predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, left the post at the end of August to spend more time with her family after the birth of her second child. Trump said at the time that Leavitt would remain his outside adviser. From 1 November, Leavitt will also become a commentator on Fox News. Such moves by former members of the Trump administration to that channel are not unusual.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz