SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
Washington: One of the most recognisable faces of the Trump administration, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, will leave the role at the end of the month.
US President Donald Trump said Leavitt, who gave birth to her second child in May, was stepping aside to spend more time with her young family, “a decision I totally understand and respect”.
He praised the 28-year-old as a “real leader in the White House” and one of the best presidential press secretaries in the history of the office. She would now act as one of his top external advisers ahead of the midterm elections, he added.
Leavitt, who has served since the administration began in January 2025, and before that was part of Trump’s campaign team, said it had been the honour and adventure of a lifetime.
“Being a mother and welcoming a new baby while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life, to say the least,” she said.
“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy and attention required of the White House press secretary.
“That is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”
Leavitt gave birth to Viviana on May 1. She has two children with her husband Nicholas Riccio.
Here are some of her most memorable moments:
When she brought podcasters and social media influencers into the fold
At her debut media briefing in January 2025, Leavitt signalled a “culture shift” by breaking tradition; instead of the Associated Press, she gave the first questions to “new media” outlets Axios and Breitbart. During the 45-minute session, she encouraged podcasters and social media influencers to apply for press passes and assigned them seats previously reserved for staff.
When she returned to work from maternity leave days after the attempt on Trump’s life
Leavitt gave birth to her first child just three days before an assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania during the 2024 campaign.
She returned to work as his campaign spokesperson the next day, saying she felt “compelled to be present in this historic moment”.
When she accused a journalist of being a ‘left-wing hack’
In a heated January 2026 exchange, a week after activist Renee Nicole Good was shot dead by a federal ICE agent in Minneapolis, Leavitt accused a journalist of being “a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion”.
Asked about ICE tactics by The Hill journalist Niall Stanage, who cited statistics on deaths in custody, Leavitt responded: “Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?”
When Stanage then asked if she was asking his opinion and suggested an ICE agent “killed [Good] unjustifiably”, Leavitt hit back.
“You’re a left-wing hack. You’re not a reporter; you’re posing in this room as a journalist. And it’s so clear by the premise of your question. And you and the people of the media who have such biases but fake like you’re a journalist – you shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat.”
When she told a reporter off for asking a ‘stupid question’
In June 2025, as the White House was gearing up for Trump’s much-touted military parade through Washington, the president warned that any potential protesters would be met “with a very big force”.
When Leavitt was asked at a briefing to clarify what kind of protests Trump would support or find acceptable, she replied that the president “absolutely supports peaceful protests. He supports the First Amendment”, but added that “he does not support violence of any kind”.
But would Trump allow peaceful protests on the day of the parade? “Of course the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question”, came Leavitt’s response.
When she attacked the Associated Press for using the term ‘Gulf of Mexico’
In February 2025, the White House banned AP from attending certain presidential events after it continued to use the term “Gulf of Mexico” in its coverage, even after the president issued an executive order renaming the body of water the “Gulf of America”.
“It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America,” she said. “I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.”
The Associated Press then sued Leavitt and two other Trump administration officials over its revoked access, citing freedom of speech. “We’ll see them in court”, was Leavitt’s response.
Two months later, a federal judge ordered the White House to restore AP’s credentials.
When she railed against ‘condoms in Gaza’
During her first White House briefing, Leavitt announced that Trump had prevented a “preposterous waste of taxpayer money” by pausing foreign aid, including “$US50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza”.
Trump then repeated the claim and upped the ante by suggesting the pricey prophylactics were, in fact, headed directly “for Hamas”.
Examining the claim, CNN found no evidence that either the $US50 million figure or the provision for contraceptives was true.
With AP
