What will Sarah Sanders do after she leaves the White House?
Press secretary has had a combative relationship with the media, but could end up running for office
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders will leave her post at the end of June, Donald Trump announced yesterday on Twitter.
The US President wrote: "She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job.” He added that she would be returning to her home of Arkansas.
Sanders said her time in the administration was "the honour of a lifetime”. She added: “This is something I will treasure forever. I’m going to continue to be one of the most outspoken and loyal supporters of the president.” No announcement has been made yet over her replacement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sanders has had a combative relationship with the media, often repeating her boss' allegations of fake news, The BBC says. According to CNN, her legacy will be “the death of the White House press briefing”.
Sanders has faced “fierce criticism from members of the press for being dishonest on the president's behalf during press briefings that were often contentious and emotional”, Fox News says.
Sanders replaced Sean Spicer in the White House post in July 2017. The 36-year-old drew derision from many when she said that God “wanted Donald Trump to become president”. She is “one of the few remaining in the White House who worked on [Trump]s] campaign”, Sky News says.
Sanders was responsible for a controversy of her own when, after Trump fired FBI director James Comey in 2017, she told the media she had “heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the President's decision”. She later said this remark was a “slip of the tongue”.
When Sanders attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner last April, host Michelle Wolf said: “She burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye. Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's lies. It's probably lies.”
Her cantankerous relationship with the media is reflected in the fact that her last media briefing was held on 11 March - 94 days ago. This led the Washington Post to say her time as press secretary was “notable for what she didn’t do as much as for what she did”.
There is already speculation that she may run for office. Sanders is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served as the governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. Trump wrote on Twitter today that he hoped she would run for the same position, adding that “she would be fantastic”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Flies attack Donald Trump
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Donald Trump criminal charges for 6 January could strain 2024 candidacy
Speed Read Former president’s ‘pettifoggery’ won’t work well at trial, said analyst
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Donald Trump in the dock: a fraught moment for US democracy
Talking Point There is speculation that former president could end up running his 2024 election campaign from behind bars
By The Week Staff Published
-
Donald Trump indicted again: is latest threat of prison a game changer?
Today's Big Question The former president ‘really could be going to jail’ but Republicans ‘may not care’ say commentators
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Trump told he could face charges over classified Mar-a-Lago documents
Speed Read A second criminal indictment is on the cards for the former US president and current Republican frontrunner
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
The return of Donald Trump to prime-time television
feature CNN executives have been condemned over the former president’s televised town hall
By The Week Staff Published
-
Durham criticizes FBI, offers little new in final report on 4-year Trump-Russia investigation review
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump ally’s ‘prove me wrong’ challenge backfires
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published