Angela Stanton-King wants President Donald Trump to name her White House press secretary. She promises a no-holds-barred approach that would make briefings must-see TV.
But online critics question her chances. They note that Trump has never appointed a Black woman to the role.
“At the end of the day, what the White House needs is a Press Secretary who’s not afraid to STAND on the truth, SPEAK the truth, has common sense, a sharp tongue, and ZERO tolerance for bullshit. No scripts. No sugarcoating. No backing down. President Trump, appoint ME. I promise I’ll get the job DONE. The ratings would be HISTORIC. The headlines would write themselves. And the group chats would be in SHAMBLES,” Stanton-King wrote on X, accompanying her pitch with a photo of herself standing at the podium in the White House briefing room.
The conservative activist nominated herself after Trump fired press secretary Katie Zacharia less than a week into the job. Her exit followed a disastrous first briefing and questions about her legal credentials.
Her departure leaves Trump seeking a new spokesperson for an administration that frequently clashes with reporters.
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“Haha Trump isn’t hiring any Black folks for this position… You are a DEI hire to MAGAs,” one commenter wrote. Someone else wrote, “Lol ok…You think Trump would actually hire a woman of color?”
A third commenter suggested that the political makeup of Trump’s support base could work against her, saying, “Girl, he is not going to appoint a Black woman as his press secretary. Whether you believe Trump is racist or not ..many of his constituents are from the Deep South and are definitely racist.”
Another person pointed to the appearance of Trump’s previous press secretaries as a reason for skepticism, writing, “Havent you NOTICED the pattern of what his press secretaries look like? You don’t have the complexion he’s looking for.”
Stanton-King, born in Maryland in 1977 and raised in Buffalo, New York, also spent part of her childhood in Greensboro, North Carolina. She has a personal connection to Trump: On Feb. 18, 2020, he granted her a full presidential pardon for federal convictions stemming from her involvement in a car theft ring.
She was charged in connection with the operation in 2004 and served two years in prison. Trump pardoned her federal conviction in Georgia. Her sentence included time served and three years of supervised release, with six months of home confinement.
After her release, Stanton-King built a public profile as an author, motivational speaker, television personality and staunch Republican, according to her bio. In 2020, she ran for Congress in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District. She initially challenged longtime Democratic Rep. John Lewis, who died that July, and later became the Republican nominee against his successor, Rep. Nikema Williams. Stanton-King lost to Williams by a wide margin.
She has supported restoring voting rights to people released from prison. She has also backed banning shackles on women during childbirth. She has also supported QAnon, compared gay rights to pedophilia and embraced anti-Semitism.
Stanton-King offered another glimpse of her public persona in a separate X post, featuring a photo of herself smiling beside Trump, with blonde hair and a caption that read: “FYI, I’VE BEEN BLONDE SINCE DAY ONE!”
She is not the only person publicly entertaining the idea of taking over the briefing room. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon recently said he would welcome the opportunity to serve as White House press secretary under the right president.
Lemon made the comments during an appearance on the “Legal AF” podcast, hosted by attorney Michael Popok on the MeidasTouch network, according to the Mirror. Popok asked Lemon whether he would ever consider the job.
“Yeah, 100% I would,” Lemon replied. Popok told him, “You’d be good at it.”
“You know it. I would be,” Lemon responded.
Lemon, who worked at CNN from 2006 until 2023, argued that his experience interviewing people and dealing with journalists would make him well suited for the role.
“I think I would be really good at it because, number one, you have to have a personality. I’m used to working with journalists; I know what their needs are. I know how to give stuff – ’cause you’re gonna have to give stuff on background, right? There are some things that go along with the job.”
He added, “I know how to do that. I know how to do my research. And if I can’t answer a question, I know enough, as someone who’s been on the other side, how to not answer a question.”
The interview was recorded before Zacharia’s departure and circulated online afterward, drawing mixed reactions. One commenter supported Lemon’s potential candidacy, writing, “Don Lemon would be a great press secretary.”
Another was less enthusiastic, responding, “You’re an okay guy, I guess, but hard pass, Don.”
A separate commenter floated Jessica Tarlov, a Fox News contributor, as a potential press secretary for a Democratic president, praising her as someone who could appeal to people across party lines.
“I know who should be the next (Democrat) White House Press Secretary. I’m very serious. She’s brilliant, trustworthy, always has the facts & receipts, has the exact right temperament, and she has the attention of the left, right, and center. She’s PERFECT for the role.”
