Former Disney actress Caroline Sunshine has emerged as a reported contender to take over the role of White House press secretary, despite suggestions that Donald Trump feels she has said "bad things about him."
Sunshine, 31, has allegedly been put forward as a possible candidate for the position following Katie Zacharia's removal from the high-profile role after just five days in post. Zacharia, 42, departed the position on October 16.
Trump has not yet revealed who his next chief spokesperson will be after Republicans suffered a major defeat in the midterm elections. He has mentioned a couple of high-profile names for the job.
Potential candidates mentioned
Trump playfully mentioned UFC chief Dana White for the role, while MAGA rapper Nicki Minaj has also been mentioned as a possibility. However, according to fresh reports, Sunshine, a less prominent Trump supporter, might be under consideration.
Sunshine is a former Disney actress, most notably appearing in a recurring part in Disney's Shake It Up, before moving into the Trump administration as a White House press assistant during the president's first stint in office. The Republican strategist now features as a pundit on channels including Fox News and CNN.
Reported conversation at Mar-a-Lago
An insider with links to Trump revealed to The Daily Mail, in a fresh report released on Wednesday, Nov. 11, that Bill Pulte, the Trump-appointed Federal Housing Finance Agency director, supposedly mentioned Sunshine to the president during a meal at Mar-a-Lago last weekend.
"You know who'd be so good as press secretary? Caroline Sunshine," Pulte reportedly said to the president, the source claimed. "You think so? She does a good job on TV, but she says bad things about me. She's been doing better lately," Trump replied, according to reports.
"Yeah, she's been doing good on TV recently," the new chief of staff, Stephen Miller, told the president, sources claimed. The Daily Mail reported that Sunshine, Pulte, and the White House all refused to comment on the claims.
Sunshine's criticism of Wiles
Speculation about Sunshine being considered for the role emerged after she appeared on Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime last week, reports the Irish Star. She demanded White House chief of staff Susie Wiles step down following the Republicans' disappointing midterm results.
Sunshine informed Watters she would voice "what a lot of people are saying privately." "Susie Wiles needs to resign," Sunshine declared to the Fox News presenter. "She needs to offer her resignation to the president before he has to ask for it. Her campaign skills have not translated into governing. Susie was behind the historic win in 2024, and she deserved credit for it and got the top job for it."
She continued, arguing that Wiles is now "behind the historic loss where we lost Mississippi and have lost potentially the Senate for six years, and so that cuts both ways."
Trump's closest advisers experienced a significant reshuffle following the midterms, with Wiles reportedly submitting her resignation on Thursday, November 5. Miller, who formerly held the position of deputy chief of staff and is recognised for developing the administration's mass deportation strategy and immigration crackdown, took over her role.
During a discussion about Republicans losing control of Congress, Sunshine told Watters: "And a lot of this was staff failure, a lot of this was strategy and messaging failure." "It's the chief of staff's job to manage the staff. Why wasn't the staff out messaging?" she added.
While Sunshine has backed the president, she has voiced concerns over the Iran conflict and the White House's communications approach during the midterms. Trump is yet to reveal who will step into the role of White House press secretary following Zacharia's departure.
