Episode Details

At 12:07 this afternoon, the White House abruptly canceled Donald Trump’s public schedule. Instead of attending a fundraiser, he stayed inside and posted on Truth Social. Then came the announcement of his new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, a woman who has spent years spreading QAnon conspiracy theories and calling for the suspension of constitutional protections. Starting Monday, she will speak on behalf of the executive branch of the United States. Every time I thought I had reached the bottom of what she had said, I found something worse. This is what Trump considers an “unblemished record of support.”

Based on the events of 10-11-2026

The Breakdown:
• The White House canceled Trump’s scheduled events at 12:07 without an explanation for his sudden disappearance from public view
• Trump praised Karoline Leavitt as “fantastic” before announcing Katie Zacharia as her replacement half an hour later
• Zacharia begins Monday, with an introductory news conference scheduled for Tuesday at 9:30 AM
• Leavitt left in August to spend more time with her family, then announced she would join Fox News on November 1
• The revolving door that took Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kayleigh McEnany to Fox News and Sean Spicer to Newsmax
• Why a lucrative television career raises questions about whose interests a White House press secretary is serving
• Zacharia’s path from DHS under Kristi Noem to Trump Media & Technology Group and regular appearances on Fox News and Newsmax
• The Daily Beast’s report about her departure from DHS, and Zacharia’s denial and explanation that travel was straining her family
• Only two formal briefings since Leavitt’s departure, with J.D. Vance and Todd Blanche
• The Pepperdine-trained lawyer’s posts calling Hollywood figures “pedo cannibals” and amplifying other conspiracy claims
• Her engagement with QAnon and promotion of the “Devolution” theory that Trump secretly retained military control while out of office
• More than 2,500 Truth Social posts since March 2022, and her June 2025 call to suspend habeas corpus
• Her false vaccine and mifepristone claims, attacks on transgender people, and encouragement of a third Trump term
• Her first Fox interview: “I just get to continue doing what I’ve been doing,” promoting Trump’s actions
• CNN’s report that candidates were disqualified over past criticism of Trump, and his praise for her “unblemished record of support”
• Why elevating a conspiracy theorist to the briefing-room podium moves us closer to state media propaganda
• The daily choices, conversations, support, and resistance that matter for our children and the future we still have time to protect

This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.