For me, it is not uncommon to see current events on my social media feed, like on Instagram or TikTok. I watch videos from American new outlets report on mostly the actions of our current president, some videos coming from the White House press briefing room with the new Press Secretary at the podium.
President Donald Trump and his staff have been hard at work for a little over a month now. Of the many presidential appointees, Trump appointed Karoline Leavitt to be the White House Press Secretary. Leavitt now stands as the youngest Press Secretary in American history, but who is she and why did Trump pick her?
27-year-old Karoline Leavitt is a New Hampshire native and went to Saint Anselm College to study communications and political science. In school, she interned for Fox News and in the White House press office during Donald Trump’s first term. Shortly after, she would pursue a career in press relations and work for Trump’s speechwriting team and as assistant press secretary in 2019.
After Joe Biden’s presidential win in 2020, Leavitt worked for former senior republican congresswoman, Elise Stefanik, as her communications director. Then in 2022, Karoline Leavitt ran for Congress, where she campaigned on similar beliefs as Trump, but lost during the New Hampshire general election.
Leavitt’s debut as White House Press Secretary was on January 27th, and since then, her goal has been “to bring truth and facts to the podium.” In a recent interview with Fox News representative, Lara Trump, Leavitt discussed fake news and the misperceptions of President Trump portrayed by media outlets, stating that they come with “anti-Trump biases.”
The most recent press briefing was on February 20th, which marked one month of the new and returning Trump administration. This was the first briefing where the new media seat was open, an executive order from Trump to allow new content-creators and podcasters into these White House briefings. The first guest was John Stole, head of news at X.
At this press briefing, Karoline Leavitt was joined by three men with senior level positions in the economic council, national security, and homeland security, all four pushing Trump’s agenda. Lots of questions were about Russia and Ukraine. Leavitt specifically answered a question about the U.S. vs. Canada hockey game, and replied with the fact that Trump is excited to watch American beat our “soon-to-be 51st state.”
Personally, I know Karoline Leavitt is doing what a White House Press Secretary is supposed to do, which is communicate to the media the plans and actions of the executive branch. I understand she is not making the decisions she is communicating but seeing and hearing someone reinforce undemocratic and un-American policy is very disappointing. Hearing Leavitt demand in a press briefing that news outlets call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” when the rest of the world does not acknowledge the new name change puts America in such a poor light on the global stage.
I look forward to keeping up with what Karoline Leavitt has to say about the current administration and how long we will be hearing from her, as Trump had four press secretaries in his first term.