George Santos offers to be Trump's press secretary
Former congressman made the pitch after Katie Zacharia's five-day tenure ended
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Former Republican Representative George Santos offered to take over as White House press secretary on Friday, following the abrupt departure of Katie Zacharia (AFP/Getty)
Photograph: The Independent (US) (embedded from source)
What this story says
- George Santos, who was expelled from Congress and convicted of wire fraud, has offered to become White House Press Secretary.
- Santos made the offer on social media after Katie Zacharia's five-day tenure as press secretary ended.
- Donald Trump commuted Santos's sentence last fall.
- Santos stated he would 'jump to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heartbeat.'
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 11 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
41/100
11 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 9 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Former Republican Representative George Santos has pitched himself as a replacement for White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia. Zacharia's tenure in the role lasted five days before her departure was announced. Santos, who was expelled from Congress and convicted of wire fraud, made his offer on social media. Donald Trump commuted Santos's sentence last fall.
Santos stated on X, formerly Twitter, that while he currently has a job, he would 'jump to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heartbeat.' The opening followed an announcement from a White House official that Zacharia was transitioning out of her position. President Trump had reportedly advised her to reconsider her role after her brief time in office.
Disagreements in reporting
The Independent's full report states that Katie Zacharia faced criticism for taking only three questions in her initial press briefing and presenting herself as a lawyer despite not having passed the bar exam. Other reports do not contain these specific details about Zacharia's criticism.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mention George Santos's prediction market platform Kalshi issuing him a lifetime ban for failing to cooperate with an investigation into wagers he placed regarding the State of the Union address.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 19 Oct 2026, 16:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports highlighted George Santos's expulsion from Congress and his conviction for wire fraud. They noted that Donald Trump commuted his sentence last fall. Several reports mentioned Santos's social media post offering to serve as press secretary, with some quoting his statement about jumping 'to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heartbeat.' The Independent's full report also detailed criticism of Katie Zacharia, including her brief tenure and her presentation as a lawyer without passing the bar.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on George Santos's offer to become White House Press Secretary following Katie Zacharia's departure. They included his statement about being willing to 'jump to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heart beat.' These reports also noted Zacharia's departure after a five-day tenure.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover George Santos offers to be Trump's press secretary?
- Of the 9 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 56% are rated left, 44% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 11. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is George Santos offers to be Trump's press secretary left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 9 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of George Santos offers to be Trump's press secretary biased?
- George Santos offers to be Trump's press secretary is one event reported by 11 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting George Santos offers to be Trump's press secretary?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered George Santos offers to be Trump's press secretary?
- 11 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Who is George Santos?
- George Santos is a former Republican Representative who was expelled from Congress and convicted of wire fraud. Donald Trump commuted his sentence last fall. He has offered to serve as White House Press Secretary.
- What happened to Katie Zacharia?
- Katie Zacharia's tenure as White House Press Secretary was five days long. Her departure was announced shortly after she began the role, with President Trump reportedly advising her to reconsider her position.
- What did George Santos say about the press secretary role?
- George Santos stated on social media that he would 'jump to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heartbeat.' He pitched himself as a replacement for Katie Zacharia after her abrupt departure.
Read it at the source
11 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Disgraced George Santos makes his pitch to be Trump’s new press secretary (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Disgraced George Santos makes his pitch to be Trump’s new press secretary (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump's Press Secretary Disaster Gives George Santos An Idea (opens Crooks and Liars in a new tab)
Crooks and Liars — is Crooks and Liars biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- George Santos Running as Possible White House Press Secretary (opens La Opinion in a new tab)
La Opinion — is La Opinion biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Trump-pardoned felon eagerly offers to fill White House press vacancy (opens Alternet in a new tab)
Centre
4- Headline Unavailable (opens NewsNation in a new tab)
NewsNation — is NewsNation biased? Our profile of this outlet
- George Santos Pitches Himself as Trump’s Press Secretary (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
- George Santos Says He’d ‘Jump’ at Chance to Be Trump’s Press Secretary (opens Newsweek in a new tab)
- George Santos: ‘I’d jump to serve’ as White House press secretary (opens The Hill in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
2How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
