There were plenty of memorable moments over her 19 months as White House press secretary, but three in particular stand out.
President Donald Trump announced on August 12 that one of his “most trusted aides,” Karoline Leavitt, was departing the role after 19 months to spend more time with her children and family. Leavitt, who gave birth to her second child on May 1, noted, “Serving as the White House Press Secretary over the past year and a half has been the honor and adventure of a lifetime.”
The first moment occurred shortly after Trump took office when a reporter asked about Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests: “How many have a criminal record versus those who are just in the country illegally?” Leavitt replied, “All of them,” because they had “illegally broken our nation’s laws.”
A year later, Leavitt confronted a White House columnist who questioned President Trump’s plan to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest. The columnist referenced the 1994 Budapest agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which included a pledge not to invade Ukraine if it gave up nuclear weapons. Leavitt retorted that the reporter was “a left-wing hack” who “isn’t a reporter but posing in this room as a journalist.”
Leavitt also dismissed another journalist’s inquiry about the summit location with the remark: “Your mom did.” When asked if she found it funny, Leavitt added that the reporter was “a left-wing hack” who had “constantly bombarded my phone with Democrat talking points.”
