White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had just gotten home from the hospital with her three-day-old son when Donald Trump was nearly assassinated as he spoke at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
It was at that moment that the 27 year old decided to cut her maternity leave short and return to her role as national press secretary for the Trump campaign and get her boss across the finish line. Those efforts led to her being named the youngest White House press secretary in history.
On Fridayâs show, Leavitt joined Megyn to discuss what it is like to be a working mom with an infant and how she is balancing motherhood with the demands of her job.
>Return to Office
Leavitt admitted that it was not ideal to return to work four days after giving birth, but becoming a mother during has given her important perspective. â[The assassination attempt] kind of threw me right back to work much sooner than I would have probably expected or hoped,â she shared. âBut becoming a mother in the midst of this very chaotic political world that I work in has been the best thing I could have ever imagined because it gives you great perspective and it humbles you.â
That is in part, she said, because seven-month-old Nicholas â whom she calls âNicoâ â is oblivious to her work. âMy son doesnât give a crap about my job. He just wants me to come home and snuggle and play toys and be present,â she shared. âIt is a difficult balance to prioritize being good at my job and being good as a mother, but I just try to prioritize my time and carve out that time when I can.â
She said she has been able to make it work thanks to her loved ones. âI am so grateful to have the support system I do,â Leavitt added. â[I have] a great husband who can be very present with our child and then, of course, a wonderful mother and father and friends who chip in when I need them.â
>Work-Life Balance
With the rise of the #TradWife trend on social media and the conversations it has sparked, Megyn said there seems to be a shift on the right about motherhood. âThere is, I think, a good thing, which is the restoration of valuing so-called âtraditional momsâ⌠the women who take care of the kids full time,â she explained. âBut it seems like, on the right, there has been a bit of a shift toward, like, you canât do what Karoline is doing; that it is actually an unsafe, or a dangerous, or a bad choice for families and for children, which I reject wholesale.â
Leavitt agreed. âI would reject that it is a bad choice. Is it a tough choice? Absolutely. As a mother⌠you do have that maternal instinct,â she shared. âBut also recognizing I am doing this work for my son and for all children to make this country better.â
This role, she said, is particularly unique. âIt is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it is also very temporary,â Leavitt explained. âIn four years, my son will be four years old, the president will no longer be at the White House, and then I will move on and do something else.â
Amid the âvery long and hard days,â Leavitt said she reminds herself that, in her situation, the âchaos of 24/7 work is a temporary matter.â And she believes she can balance motherhood and her career. âI would reject that you canât be a good mom and be good at your job. I think you can do both,â she said. âIt is not for everybody. It takes a lot of work, and will, and faith, and prayer, and it is hard, but it can be done.â
-White House insiders reveal how Karoline Leavitt mastered the most demanding role in the Trump admin and even Clinton aide agrees
Donald Trumpâs press secretary is being praised for having the relentless discipline and sheer tenacity it takes to fill â and keep â one of the most demanding positions in the White House.
At just 27, Karoline Leavitt has cemented herself as a formidable force within the second Trump administration, serving as the youngest press secretary in history.
Her rise has been marked by an unflinching commitment to Trumpâs messaging â a trait that has earned her praise from the president and some grudging admiration from his critics.
Even Joe Lockhart, a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton, has acknowledged Leavittâs effectiveness.
âIf you were to grade her on the conventional wisdom of the job she gets an F. If you would grade her on the current criteria, pleasing Donald Trump, she gets an A-plus,â Lockhart said to the Wall Street Journal.
âTheyâre always only speaking to their own people. They do not care about the rest of us, because they donât need those people to keep Republicans in charge.â
According to former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer who served under George W. Bush, âThe most noticeable thing I can tell about her is she is in the Oval Office with the president for much of the day. And I say that because she speaks Donald Trump fluently.
âShe knows his ins and outs. She knows what to say, what not to say. And sheâs comfortable.â
Karoline Leavitt has been described as being âable to speak Donald Trump fluentlyâ
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is seen straightening the curtains behind President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House
The New Hampshire nativeâs defining moment came in July 2024, just days after giving birth to her son.
While tending to her child, a would-be assassinâs bullet grazed Trumpâs ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and Leavitt made a stunning decision to return to work just four days later.
âThe President literally put his life on the line to win this election,â she later explained. âThe least I could do is get back to work quickly.â
Sheâs the sixth working mother in a row to hold the post.
Such fierce devotion shows why Trump has entrusted her with one of the most grueling roles in Washington.
In the few weeks since stepping behind the lectern, she has proven to be a quick-witted and unflappable spokesperson, batting down hostile questions from the press with a mix of sharp precision and biting, dismissive comebacks.
âSo youâre asking a hypothetical based on programs you canât even identify?â she scoffed at one White House reporter, setting the tone for how she intends to manage the often-adversarial press corps.
Her no-nonsense approach has sparked both admiration and criticism, but those who know her best say she thrives in high-pressure situations.
Leavitt
is known to spend most of her day alongside Donald Trump in the Oval Office
Reporters raise their hands to question White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing last week at the White House in Washington DC
At just 27, Leavitt has cemented herself as a formidable force within the White House , serving as the youngest press secretary in history
Under Leavittâs watch, the traditional press briefing format has been radically restructured.
She has made it clear that legacy media will no longer be prioritized, opening up the briefing room to influencers, TikTokers, independent journalists, and conservative content creators.
Leavitt started the question period in her very first briefing by calling on the outlets Axios and Breitbart News, saying that non-traditional outlets would play a bigger role going forward in the White House.
âI believe the best way to be successful at my job is to listen to [President Trump] as much as possible and hear every word he says publicly, and then to talk to him privately about his thinking, so I can articulate his message as effectively as possible,â Leavitt said about her role.
The shift has not been without controversy. The Associated Press was barred from several White House events after refusing to adopt Trumpâs rebranding of the Gulf of Mexico as the âGulf of America.â
When the AP protested, Leavitt was unmoved.
âIt is a privilege to cover this White House,â she told reporters. âIt is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the âGulf of America,â and Iâm not sure why news outlets donât want to call it that. But that is what it is.â
Joe Lockhart, left, a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton from 1998â2000 has acknowledged Leavittâs effectiveness
Trump himself described her as âa star is bornâ at a recent White House event
Leavittâs rise has been marked by an unflinching commitment to Trumpâs messaging â a trait that has earned her unwavering praise from the president himself a
Her unapologetic stance has drawn the ire of traditional news organizations and press freedom advocates.
âItâs alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,â AP executive editor Julie Pace stated. The White House Correspondentsâ Association called the move âa textbook violation of the First Amendment.â
Leavitt, however, remains steadfast in her approach. âWe will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House,â she warned in one of her earliest press conferences.
Despite her controversial handling of the press, Leavitt has garnered significant support among Trump loyalists, who see her as a fierce warrior against media bias.
âOverall, I think sheâs killing it,â said Sean Spicer, Trumpâs first spokesman who lasted six months in the role during Trumpâs first term. âAdmittedly, Iâm a little jealous.â
Trump himself described her as âa star is bornâ at a recent White House event.
Navigating the Trump presidency also requires an unparalleled ability to anticipate his impulses, translate his off-the-cuff remarks into policy statements, and control the media narrative.
Leavitt has garnered significant support among Trump loyalists, who see her as a fierce warrior against media bias
Trumpâs Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is seen holding her first press briefing at the White House on January 28. Leavitt answered questions about the presidentâs executive actions and his administrationâs freeze on federal aid
Leavitt appears to have the ability to anticipate Trumpâs impulses and translate his off-the-cuff remarks into policy statements, while also controlling the media narrative
Leavitt has made it clear that legacy media will no longer be prioritized, opening up the briefing room to influencers, Tiktokers, independent journalists, and conservative content creators
Leavitt posted an image with media icon Kim Kardashian during a trip to Washington during Trumpâs first term
Leavittâs defenders argue that it is her ability to channel Trumpâs voice so effectively which is exactly what makes her an asset in this unprecedented White House.
Leavittâs rise to prominence began with a political awakening in college.
A former athlete at Saint Anselm College, a liberal arts school in Manchester, New Hampshire, she pivoted from sports to politics.
She played on the softball team and graduated in 2019 with a bachelorâs degree in politics and communication, the first in her immediate family to earn a college degree, working her way into Trumpâs first administration through sheer persistence.
Leavitt âquickly learned it wasnât athletics I was interested in. It was politics, public service, news,â she told a county Republican group in New Hampshire in 2022 as she explored running for Congress.
She wanted to be a reporter, and even worked for local TV station WMUR, but ultimately was âglad I didnât continue down that path, working on the dark side.â
She wanted to get involved in the political process. Trump was the inspiration to her.
In his first term, Leavitt applied for a White House internship and was âstunnedâ to be accepted. She worked in the correspondence office, where she wrote letters in the presidentâs name.
Afterwards she moved to Kayleigh McEnanyâs press team, where she quickly became a trusted deputy.
âI was immediately impressed by her evident drive and her genuinely positive demeanor,â McEnany, now a co-host of Fox News Channelâs Outnumbered, said.
âKaroline is sharp, professional, and enterprising, and I knew that I wanted to hire her on the spot.â