Harmony, 24, named assistant press secretary; Cheung remains comms director
Katie Zacharia, President Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary, used her social media accounts to promote the QAnon conspiracy theory and the baseless Pizzagate claim before her appointment, according to posts documented by Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi. The newspaper reported that on her Truth Social account, Zacharia has echoed Trump’s claim that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” and promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, which posits that Trump is saving the world from a cabal of satanic paedophiles.
Zacharia also promoted Pizzagate, the baseless theory that Hillary Clinton and her 2016 campaign chief, John Podesta, were operating an underground child sex-trafficking ring from a Washington, D.C., pizza shop.
In a post on X last year, Zacharia claimed that the abortion medication mifepristone “is connected to the manufacturer of the deadly gas Zyklon B, used in the World War II concentration camps.” The Guardian noted that conspiracy theorists have cited a tenuous corporate connection between the drug’s manufacturer and the maker of Zyklon B, but mifepristone was developed in the 1980s by a French company.
Zacharia has previously served as a communications adviser for the Trump Media and Technology Group and as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, and has worked for an anti-abortion advocacy group, according to her public résumé as reported by The Guardian. Trump cited her loyalty in announcing the choice. “She has an unblemished record of support,” he said. “She is … a devoted fan and member of Maga!”
The White House also confirmed the appointment of Beni Rae Harmony, 24, as assistant press secretary. A Christmas 2021 photo of Harmony wearing a “Fuck Joe Biden” T-shirt while holding a rifle recently circulated online. The White House defended Harmony, calling her “a trusted voice for the Maga movement.”
Trump communications director Steven Cheung rounds out the press operation. Trump reportedly refers to him as “my sumo wrestler.” Cheung has cultivated what The Guardian described as a “shock-jock style comms strategy,” directing insults and crude language at political figures and journalists including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (“shut his stupid mouth”), Senator Jon Ossoff (“the biggest cuck loser in politics”), former FBI Director James Comey (“one of the dumbest motherfuckers in human history”), and CNN host Erin Burnett, to whom he directed the slur “retards.”
Zacharia succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August after giving birth. Trump commented on Leavitt’s departure at the time. “She decided she loved her children more than she loved Donald Trump,” he said. “I’m very upset about this. She has to go home and spend time with her children. That does happen on occasion with some people – when they love their children.” Leavitt, 29, has since joined Fox News as an on-air contributor.
According to a Reuters analysis referenced by The Guardian, Trump has invoked Biden’s name about 900 times this year. The newspaper reported that Biden is dealing with stage four cancer and has mostly stayed out of the public eye.
The appointment comes weeks before the November midterm elections. On X last month, Zacharia wrote that “President Trump does not need a spokesperson. He is his own best Press Secretary.”