Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, whose famously brief stint working for President Donald Trump inspired a new unit of political time, is offering some sympathetic advice to Katie Zacharia, Trump’s latest press secretary, who lasted just five days on the job.
“Dear @katiezacharia — speaking as the world’s leading expert on short White House tenures: turn off the news and go enjoy your family,” Scaramucci wrote Friday on X.
“In time you’ll realize that the Universe did you a major favor.”
Dear @katiezacharia — speaking as the world’s leading expert on short White House tenures: turn off the news and go enjoy your family. In time you’ll realize that the Universe did you a major favor.
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 16, 2026
Scaramucci, nicknamed “the Mooch,” served roughly ten days as Trump’s communications director in 2017 before being fired. His name subsequently became shorthand for measuring the tenures of short-lived political appointees.
Zacharia’s departure prompted jokes that she had lasted less than half a Scaramucci, including one from U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who wrote: “Less than half a Scaramucci.”
Donald Trump fired Katie Zacharia, his braindead press secretary, after just five days.
Less than half a Scaramucci.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) October 16, 2026
Scaramucci, however, wasn’t celebrating his successor’s misfortune.
“Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain,” he wrote.
Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 16, 2026
Speaking to The New Yorker editor David Remnick, Scaramucci explained that his own dismissal had brought not just embarrassment but relief.
“That podium is a hard podium, as we all know,” he told Remnick. “But the universe did her a favor. She shouldn’t be in that job.”
[NOTE: Scaramucci held the position of White House communications director, not press secretary. His departure in July 2017 followed a profanity-laden conversation with New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza in which he attacked fellow administration officials, including then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.]
Zacharia’s five-day run included one White House press briefing, which lasted approximately 14 minutes, and questions about her professional qualifications after it emerged that she had failed the California bar exam and never retaken it.
Trump, who had introduced Zacharia as an attorney when announcing her appointment, said Friday that he had encouraged her to reconsider the job because of the harsh treatment she was receiving.
The president told reporters that he was a fan of Zacharia but that the position might not be worth the personal toll, according to Axios.
Zacharia responded to her departure with a tribute to Trump, calling him “kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking.”
She said serving the president had been an honor and praised his commitment to the country.
NEW: Katie Zacharia tells Fox News:
“President Trump is such a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. There’s nobody who will ever come close to making America great the way he has and is. It was an honor to work for him.”— Patrick Ward (@WardDPatrick) October 17, 2026
Scaramucci, who has since become one of Trump’s outspoken critics, offered a considerably different assessment of the experience of working for the president.
“I didn’t blame the firing on anyone but me,” he told Remnick, adding that he hadn’t liked the job and felt some relief when it ended.
Asked by the New Yorker why getting fired brought relief, Scaramucci answered with a question of his own:
“Have you ever worked for Donald Trump?”