Disgraced George Santos makes his pitch to be Trump’s new press secretary

Disgraced George Santos makes his pitch to be Trump’s new press secretary Santos, who was expelled from Congress and convicted of wire fraud before receiving a sentence commutation from Trump last fall, said he would ‘jump to serve’ as press secretary - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Former Republican Representative George Santos pitched himself on Friday as a replacement for White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, shortly after her abrupt departure was announced. In a post on X, Santos wrote that though he currently has a job, he would “jump to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heartbeat.” The opening follows a White House official’s announcement Friday afternoon that Zacharia was transitioning out of her position. President Donald Trump told reporters he had advised her to reconsider her role after a turbulent five-day tenure, making her the shortest-serving White House press secretary on record. Zacharia faced criticism during her brief time in the position, particularly after an initial press briefing in which she took only three questions and presented herself as a lawyer despite not having passed the bar exam. Before pitching himself for the job, Santos criticized Fox News host Sean Hannity, who had aggressively questioned Zacharia about her legal qualifications during an interview on Thursday. In a profane message posted to social media, Santos accused the anchor of judging others from a self-righteous position. He later expanded on his comments Friday evening, urging his followers to unfollow anyone who considered Hannity a standard for society. It is not the first time Santos and Hannity have clashed. After Santos was released from federal prison last fall, Hannity pressed him during an interview on whether he intended to repay the money he stole from victims. Santos apologized during the appearance but did not promise to pay it back. Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 before being convicted of multiple counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Trump commuted his sentence last October after Santos had served three months in prison. Since leaving public office, Santos has remained surrounded by controversy. In August, the prediction market platform Kalshi issued him a lifetime ban for failing to cooperate with an investigation into wagers he placed regarding this year’s State of the Union address. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments