Even Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director who lasted just 11 days on the job, is wondering whether press secretary Katie Zacharia could outlast his dubious record after her rocky Tuesday debut.
uncertain
Zacharia → last → debut
Scaramucci, who briefly served in President Donald Trump’s first administration in 2017, took to X to weigh in on Zacharia’s 14-minute inaugural press briefing in the James Brady Briefing Room, which quickly became a target of online mockery.
asserted
which → serve → mockery
“The clock is running,” Scaramucci wrote, sharing a throwback video of former White House press secretary Sean Spicer in the briefing room.
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Scaramucci → run → room
“Thus far 1/11th of a Scaramucci,” he added, referencing his own notoriously short tenure.
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he → add → tenure
Trump appointed Scaramucci on July 21, 2017, but his time in the White House quickly unraveled.
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time → appoint → House
He clashed with then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who resigned days later, and made candid remarks to a reporter without first establishing that their conversation was off the record.
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conversation → clash → record
Trump fired Scaramucci days later on July 31.
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Trump → fire → July
Zacharia’s debut went viral, but for less flattering reasons.
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debut → go → reasons
She appeared to confuse Trump with her husband during the briefing and took just three questions from right-wing reporters before ending the session.
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She → appear → session
Despite poking fun at Zacharia’s rough start, Scaramucci pushed back against the suggestion that he was rooting for her to fail to protect his record.
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her → poke → record
After one X user suggested he might be “happy” about her performance because she could soon surpass his brief time in the White House, Scaramucci replied: “Not me.
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Scaramucci → suggest → House
I hope she makes it.”
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she → hope → it
Scaramucci later joined in on a viral joke comparing Zacharia’s tenure to the shelf life of a head of lettuce.
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Scaramucci → join → lettuce
The meme recalls the 2022 internet challenge that tracked whether former British Prime Minister Liz Truss would remain in office longer than a head of lettuce before it wilted.
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it → recall → lettuce
Truss resigned after just 49 days.
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Truss → resign → days
Sharing an image of Zacharia next to a head of lettuce, Scaramucci wrote: “I want her to get past the lettuce.”
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her → share → lettuce
He continued to defend his comments Wednesday after another X user urged him to “have some class” and “don’t be a rude man.”
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user → continue → class
“I wish her well,” Scaramucci replied.
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Scaramucci → wish → ?
“The administration is an abomination but I don’t wish for her demise.
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I → wish → demise
As an American I am exercising my right to explain how damaging they are to their fellow Americans and the world.
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they → exercise → Americans
But I don’t want to see her fired.
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her → want → ?
However that is a job where you have to lie.
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you → have → ?
So there is that,” Scaramucci added.
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Scaramucci → be → ?
Beyond her awkward debut, Zacharia is facing questions about her legal credentials, with no public evidence that she passed a bar exam in the U.S. or elsewhere.
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she → face → U.S.
She worked at a law firm in Beijing after graduating from law school, but it remains unclear whether she was licensed to practice law.
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she → work → law
Zacharia insisted Tuesday that she had “practiced international transactional law, with all the appropriate credentials.”
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she → insist → credentials
A White House official said she worked in international transaction law after moving to China with her husband.
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she → say → husband
Zacharia’s next briefing has not been announced.
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briefing → announce → ?
She said Tuesday that reporters could question Trump during his upcoming midterm campaign travel and noted that he was scheduled to return Thursday.
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he → say → travel
The Aporia
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