The key facts

  • Karin Zakharia, dismissed after five days as White House press secretary, is trying to reclaim the post, The New York Post reports citing sources
  • She helped cover a report on the November 3 election campaign and appeared at the Mar-a-Lago resort, hoping to attract the president's attention
  • A White House source said her return would happen 'not for another million years'; her representative denies any interest in returning

Attempts to get her job back

Former White House press secretary Karoline... Karin Zakharia, dismissed after five days in the post, is trying to reclaim the position, The New York Post reports, citing three sources close to the US president. According to them, the woman is trying to 'charm' the country's leader and new chief of staff Stephen Miller in order to get a second chance.

What she is doing

According to the outlet, Zakharia decided to help cover a report on the midterm election campaign on Tuesday, November 3, hoping the president would see it and decide she was fit for her former post. In addition, she was spotted at the politician's resort residence, Mar-a-Lago, where she allegedly tried to attract his attention.

Reaction at the White House and Zakharia's own position

One White House official mockingly remarked that Zakharia's return would happen 'not for another million years.' 'She is never coming back. [Trump] considers her a laughingstock. She has no chance whatsoever', a source told the outlet. At the same time, the former press secretary's representative insists that the woman is not interested in returning to work at the White House and is 'focused on defending free speech and supporting the president's priorities in other ways.' Thus, reports of her attempts to reclaim the post contradict the official position of her circle.

How her tenure ended

On October 9, Zakharia left the post due to moving to a new job,replacing Karoline Leavitt, who had stepped down following the birth of her second child. She held her first and only briefing as White House press secretary on October 13: it lasted 14 minutes, and for the first eight she 'nervously read from a script, glancing up at the cameras every couple of lines.' The press secretary then called on only three reporters, delivered one unexpected piece of news, made a slip of the tongue by confusing her husband with the president, and after five and a half minutes rushed out, leaving journalists bewildered. Shortly afterward, the American leader said he had advised Zakharia to 'reconsider her decision' to work as press secretary.