What did Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell make of Trump's shortest-serving press secretary?

Alastair Campbell says Trump appointed Katie Zachariah after seeing her praise him on television, without telling chief of staff Susie Wiles. She took three questions, from Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail, before aide Jason Miller led her away from the podium. Her tenure broke Anthony Scaramucci's record for brevity. Rory Stewart admits feeling sorry for her, while Campbell refuses sympathy for anyone who takes such a job without the skills.

• Stewart quips that Liz Truss's premiership would now be measured as eight Zachariahs rather than four Scaramuccis.

▸In their words

“As to the basis on which Trump chooses press secretaries, Trump is his own press secretary.” Rory Stewart · at 44:17 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Rest Is Politics (2026-10-21). Read the whole episode summary →

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