Karoline Leavitt Is Fascism’s Lead Mouthpiece
In her debut briefing as White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt already had her hands full. President Trump had signed an executive order pausing all federal funding, which was set to take effect that afternoon and was already causing panic.
Every Medicaid reimbursement portal in the country had stopped working. Organizations like Meals on Wheels, which deliver food to the elderly and people with disabilities, and Head Start, which assists low-income families with childcare, were worried about cuts to their programs. Democrats were warning that the EO’s language was so broad it could affect funding for local law enforcement, disaster aid, rural hospitals, and more.
“Why impose this pause with so little notice?” a reporter asked Leavitt. “Why not give organizations more time to plan for the fact that they are about to lose, in some cases, really crucial federal funding—”
“There was notice. It was the executive order that the president signed,” she replied, before going on to spread a bizarre conspiracy theory. “DOGE and OMB also found that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza,” she said. “That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money.”
No one had any idea what she was talking about—because she had made it all up.
It was an early lesson in how Leavitt operates. At 28 years old (27 when she was first picked), Leavitt is the youngest press secretary in history. But rather than make her generation proud, she has served as just a pretty face for fascists to hide behind—while spouting racist, right-wing conspiracies. A calculating nihilist, Leavitt will do and say anything to build a version of America that is more white, more Christian, and free of leftists.
One day after she claimed the U.S. was funneling condoms to Gaza (during a genocide, no less), 67 people were killed in a fatal crash involving a military helicopter and an American Airlines flight near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. It was the deadliest airline disaster in decades. Trump, who had personally gutted a key aviation safety committee days before the incident, blamed the incident on DEI, and Trump’s lead propagandist was more than happy to play along.
“When you are flying on an airplane with your loved ones … do you pray that your plane lands safely and gets you to your destination or do you pray that the pilot has a certain skin color?” she said. “I think we all know the answer to that question.”
But throughout the year, Leavitt hasn’t simply parroted Trump’s talking points—she has also added her own wild twist. In March, the Trump administration deported more than 250 immigrant men to a prison infamous for human rights abuses and torture in El Salvador. The administration did so despite a judge’s order to halt the planes. Afterward, Leavitt claimed the judge’s order didn’t count because it was verbal. “All of the planes subject to the written order of this judge departed U.S. soil, U.S. territory before the judge’s written order,” she said.
“But what about the verbal order, which of course carries the same legal weight as a written order, and said for the planes to turn around if they were in the air?” a reporter asked.
“Well there’s actually questions about whether a verbal order carries the same weight as a … written order, and our lawyers are determined to ask and answer those questions in court,” Leavitt replied, essentially rewriting the law.
On Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national and Maryland father whom the administration admitted was wrongly deported, Leavitt claimed that no such error took place. “Abrego Garcia was a foreign terrorist,” she said. “He is an MS-13 gang member. He was engaged in human trafficking.” She added, “Abrego Garcia will never be a ‘Maryland father.’ He will never live in the United States of America again.” (He is back in the U.S. and was released from custody earlier this month.)
When Leavitt isn’t making up laws or simply being racist, she occupies her time by putting her foot in her mouth. “At this moment in time, the ballroom is really the president’s main priority,” she said on day 23 of the government shutdown, a quote that quickly went viral and is sure to make a reappearance in future campaign ads. In another instance, a reporter had to tell her that the “Democrat activist” judge she was railing against was in fact appointed by former President George W. Bush.
Sometimes it’s notable when Leavitt doesn’t speak. Just before Thanksgiving, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested her nephew’s mom, who came to the U.S. as a child and was reportedly in the process of getting a green card. Leavitt didn’t say a word about it, even as more details about the arrest came out, including that her brother had previously repeatedly threatened to deport his ex. As the mother sat in an ICE facility, Leavitt stood in front of America and praised Trump for his work to remove “all illegal alien invaders,” with no hint of irony or remorse.
Leavitt—a devout Catholic who wears a giant cross necklace, posts Bible verses on Instagram, and holds team prayer sessions where she asks Jesus to help her be “articulate”—defends every sick thing that Trump does. Last month, when the president told a female reporter, “Quiet, Piggy,” Leavitt claimed it was a sign of respect. Trump’s sexist insult was in fact him being “frank and open and honest to your faces,” Leavitt told the White House press corps, and then used the opportunity to attack Joe Biden for evading the press. “So I think everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from President Trump on a near daily basis.”
Leavitt has argued for Trump’s proposal to deport U.S. citizens, his plan to target Americans represented by Democrats, and the idea that federal judges don’t have power over Trump. Trump’s mysteriously bruised hand is him “literally constantly shaking hands,” according to Leavitt, and he’s in “optimal physical health” as he’s constantly falling asleep in meetings. Trump’s sketchy pardons are him “exercising his constitutional authority,” even if he happens to be pardoning drug traffickers or people making him richer. Every single one of Trump’s orders is legal, and the Democratic Party’s “main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.” Oh and never mind about Trump’s signature on that check to Jeffrey Epstein, the whole thing is a “Democrat hoax” in Leavitt’s retelling—but don’t ask her which part exactly is the hoax.
Leavitt has no principles to speak of. We knew this well before she became press secretary. After the January 6 insurrection, she praised her old boss, former Vice President Mike Pence, for not certifying the 2020 election—and then she deleted her tweets and ran for a House seat as an election denier. She lost handily to a Democrat, but has been failing upward ever since, as one does in MAGA Land. Now, she’s the lead apologist for a fascist president. There is nothing Trump can do that Leavitt won’t defend. So long as he’s building a whiter America, Leavitt will be there to deform the English language in his defense.