Katie Zacharia’s run as White House press secretary lasted five days, and memes about her exit are rolling in.
There is someone who can relate: Anthony Scaramucci, whose brief stint as Trump’s White House communications director in July 2017 became a pop-culture unit of time — a “Scaramucci,” or “Mooch” — for measuring short-lived political appointments.
Scaramucci held the role for roughly 10 days — six if not including the time lapsed between Trump’s announcement and his first day — before Trump fired him.
Scaramucci has been following Zacharia’s journey closely and, in a series of tweets, has gone from wishing her well to offering advice.
It started on Thursday, when Scaramucci placed his bet that Zacharia would “make it.”
She will make it. I have the over. https://t.co/AeDXFPKFvP
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 16, 2026
The bet on Zacharia was short-lived. By mid-Friday, Scaramucci was addressing her departure.
Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain. https://t.co/kDIRWj9Rta
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 16, 2026
Scaramucci also offered Zacharia direct advice.
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
Meanwhile, the internet has been creating math equations over how many “Scaramuccis” Zacharia had lasted, suggesting she become the new benchmark.
Half of a Scaramucci is called a Zacharia.
— Covie (@covie_93) October 16, 2026
If the counting began Monday morning, October 12, when she stepped to the podium: https://t.co/aZAGkIrhRC pic.twitter.com/digu9nmaOY
— Jake Tapper 🦅 (@jaketapper) October 16, 2026
Workers have long been told to stay in a job for at least a year to avoid looking uncommitted to future employers. A string of short stints can still raise eyebrows, but the dates on a résumé don’t always tell the whole story.
Leadership consultants have previously told Business Insider that quick moves that come with more responsibility and opportunities to build skills can strengthen a résumé, in which quick changes in roles could be seen as a sign of ambition and adaptability rather than instability.
Zacharia succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who left in August to spend more time with her young children. She became Trump’s sixth press secretary across his two terms, and the fourth to last less than a year.
While there is helpful career advice out there for Zacharia, a LinkedIn profile picture of Zacharia with the infamous “#Opentowork” tag has also taken off on X. The tweet was originally posted by the Democrats’ official account.
Already 😭 https://t.co/Fnmd0cpN9Q pic.twitter.com/a57QsCFQba
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) October 16, 2026
The green tag itself has been a much-debated topic on the professional networking platform.
Some recruiters have previously told Business Insider that the label is the “biggest red flag” to hiring managers because it suggests “desperation.” Data from 2024, however, show that workers with the public green tag receive 40% more messages from LinkedIn Recruiter than those who use only the private signal.
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