Goodbye Karoline: A Look Back At The Press Secretary’s Worst Podium Moments

By Nikki McCann Ramirez

Nikki McCann Ramirez

Goodbye Karoline Leavitt, we wish we’d known you less. After 585 days serving as President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary — the second longest tenure of the five he’s had while in office — Leavitt is stepping down from her role to spend more time with her two young children. 

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Leavitt described her departure as “bittersweet.” 

“I’ll miss you guys. I know that’s probably not something anyone would expect me to say, but obviously it’s been great working with all of you,” she told a gaggle of White House correspondents. What “I think people don’t realize about this job — the briefings and what I just did on TV — is 10 percent. Ninety percent of it is taking all of your calls at five in the morning and 11 p.m. at night, and I won’t really miss that. But I will miss working with you guys every day.” 

At 29, Leavitt is the youngest press secretary Trump has had over the course of the two terms — and the youngest in the position’s history. She has been in the post since Trump retook the White House, and quickly became one of the most recognizable faces of Trump 2.0’s push towards increasingly authoritarian and inhumane policies, and the primary laundress of the administration’s overreach and misinformation.

Her successor has not been named yet — although plenty of right-wing blowhards are vying for the position. In the meantime, here’s a look back at some of the lowest lows Leavitt delivered to the nation from behind the White House podium. 

The Epstein scandal was a “manufactured hoax by the Democrat Party”

Leavitt infamously claimed that the Epstein files, and the scandal surrounding them, were a hoax manufactured by Democrats. At one point Leavitt went so far as to imply that individual documents released by Epstein’s estate were potentially fabrications, defending Trump’s claim that a birthday card depicting a nude female figure drawn by Trump for Epstein was potentially a forgery. 

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Leavitt on Epstein: "This is truly a manufactured hoax by the Democrat Party" pic.twitter.com/9mpgWW0aBY

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 12, 2025

Claiming Renee Good was a “lunatic” 

After the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota by ICE Agents, the administration jumped into spin mode. From the White House podium, Leavitt berated a reporter and called her a “left wing hack” after she questioned the administration’s description of Good as a violent instigator who had justifiably been shot. Leavitt later called Good a “lunatic” in a press gaggle with White House reporters. 

.@PressSec Karoline Leavitt: "Why was Renee Good 'unfortunately and tragically' killed?" Q: "Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably." Leavitt: "Okay, so you're a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion…you're a left-wing hack." pic.twitter.com/5hlamojM4o

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 15, 2026

Accusing the press of only wanting to “make the president look bad” 

In March, less than a month into the American war against Iran that was only supposed to last a couple weeks, Leavitt berated CNN host Kaitlan Collins for pressing her on complaints by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about negative coverage of the deaths of six service members. 

“It’s the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said. “The press does only want to make the president look bad. That’s a that’s a fact,” she added. 

here's the full clip of Karoline Leavitt getting big mad when Kaitlan Collins presses her on Hegseth complaining about press coverage of US troop deaths pic.twitter.com/o1OBQh98yd

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2026

“The president is literally constantly shaking hands” 

When mysterious black bruises began to appear on the back of President Trump’s hands (along with really shoddy efforts to cover them with makeup) speculation grew that the president’s health might be in visible decline. 

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The White House offered up another explanation: Trump was constantly participating in crushing hand shakes with important people. “The president is literally constantly shaking hands, the Oval Office is like Grand Central Terminal,” she claimed, adding that the bruises were likely made worse by Trump’s daily aspirin regiment. 

Leavitt: As for the bandages, we've given you an explanation about that in the past. The president is literally constantly shaking hands. pic.twitter.com/SBAhqSuBIY

— Acyn (@Acyn) December 11, 2025

Insisting that the “body of water off of the coast of Louisiana is called the ‘Gulf of America’” 

Trump loves renaming things. Early on in his second term, the president made a show of attempting to rename the Gulf of Mexico as 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 snapped at reporters. 

News outlets refused to adopt the change, leading the administration to attempt to ban the Associated Press from the White House Press pool. They were later reinstated via a judicial order. 

COLLINS: Which White House official made the decision to bar the AP reporter? LEAVITT: It is a privilege to cover this WH C: Isn't this retaliatory? LEAVITT: It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America pic.twitter.com/5gxGborPgs

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 12, 2025

Claiming millions were being spent on “condoms in Gaza” 

Leavitt falsely promoted claims by the administration that — under Elon Musk — DOGE had prevented $50 million from being spent distributing “condoms in Gaza.” It turns out no such funding allocation existed, although the administration did cut a total of about $100 million in humanitarian aid programs to the region. 

Karoline Leavitt: "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. That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer dollars." pic.twitter.com/mbdAOg12b3

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 28, 2025

Blaming DEI and “skin color” for a plane crash 

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