Next White House Press Secretary Odds: Stephanie Grisham Narrowly Favored Over Tony Sayegh
- Sarah Sanders will be leaving her post as White House Press Secretary at the end of the month.
- Stephanie Grisham is the early favorite to earn the role at +225.
- Hogan Gidley could offer good value as he might get the role in the interim.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders is leaving her White House post, which has prompted many people to wonder: who is next in line? Sportsbooks have posted odds on a full list of candidates with Stephanie Grisham being listed as the favorite. Is she the best bet or is there a good chance someone else earns the job?
Who Will be Named Next Press Secretary?
| Candidate | Odds |
|---|---|
| Stephanie Grisham | +225 |
| Tony Sayegh | +250 |
| Hogan Gidley | +300 |
| Steve Cortes | +650 |
| Morgan Ortagus | +700 |
| Ainsley Earhardt | +1200 |
| Katie Pavlich | +1200 |
| Kayleigh McEnany | +1200 |
| Mercedes Schlapp | +1200 |
| Kim Kardashian | +50000 |
Sanders’ Departure was Somewhat Surprising, Somewhat Expected
Although many people were surprised that Sanders announced her plans to leave the White House this week, the truth is that she dropped some clues about this last year. She wants to be closer to her family.
Sanders came under heavy fire from the media with many questioning her honesty as some felt she was simply a mouthpiece for the President rather than someone who was delivering facts accurately. She eventually stopped giving press briefings and will now vacate the position by the end of the month.
Who is Stephanie Grisham?
Although most early reports suggest that President Trump is scouring the cable news networks for his next press secretary, the early favorite for the job is Grisham. If the name doesn’t sound all that familiar, she is currently working as First Lady Melania Trump’s spokeswoman. She’s also her deputy chief of staff for communications.
Although this is her role at the White House, she’s been with Trump since 2015 as she was originally a press aide for his presidential campaign. She’s clearly demonstrated loyalty and she knows how to handle the media, but will happen when she’s thrown into the fire?
When asked about her during an interview with FOX News on Friday morning, Trump said that she’s “terrific” but was non-committal, suggesting that he has a lot of “great people” to choose from.
Who is Tony Sayegh?
Sayegh is the departing assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department. Essentially, he’s the chief spokesman for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. One thing that he has going for him is that he used to appear on FOX News and FOX Business quite regularly as a contributor and Trump is supposedly looking for someone from cable news.
Hogan Gidley a Good Bet
This position has caused the President a lot of problems (Sean Spicer, Anthony Scaramucci), so I’m expecting him to hire the same way he hired Sarah Sanders: put someone in the interim role and see if they sink or swim. If they swim, they’ll keep the job long-term. If not, they’ll be swapped out.
Hogan Gidley is who I think becomes the next press secretary on an interim basis. He’s currently Sanders’ principal deputy secretary and he’s made the rounds on shows before like CNN and MSNBC. He makes sense as an immediate fill-in and if he does well, he’ll keep the job.
The Pick: Hogan Gidley (+300)
For over 15 years, Dave has been working in mainstream media and sports betting. He hosted a station on Sirius Satellite Radio for four years, and is currently a senior writer for AskMen. He's interviewed hundreds of hundreds of high-profile sports stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Floyd Mayweather.
