Who Is Karoline Leavitt? Meet The Young Trump Spokesperson Who Got Embarrassed On CNN
Like other Donald Trump press secretaries before her, Karoline Leavitt, Trump's 2024 National Press Secretary, has been making news herself lately with an appearance on CNN. Here's what we know about what happened with CNN, and how this 26-year-old woman got involved in national politics.
Leavitt was cut off unceremoniously during her June 24 interview on CNN's "This Morning" as she was speaking with host Kasie Hunt about the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season. The debate is set for June 27, and is being hosted by CNN and moderated by network hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Considering how Joe Biden really feels about Trump — apparently it's NSFW — and how Trump feels about Biden, it's set to be quite the show.
In the footage that's been gone viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, Leavitt defended and supported her boss during her morning show appearance. However, the conversation took a turn for the antagonistic when Hunt asked about Trump's debate prep and Leavitt responded by coming after CNN and its moderators. Leavitt said the debate was a "hostile environment" for Trump, and described Tapper and Bash as "biased" moderators. Hunt was apparently unhappy with Leavitt's attempts to repeat the unflattering characterization of her veteran co-workers, and shut down the conversation: "Ma'am, we're going to stop this interview if you're going to keep attacking my colleagues."
Karoline Leavitt has run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
Karoline Leavitt was later asked about the CNN interview on Fox News, and she continued to take the Donald Trump company line of being anti-CNN. She said, "[N]ot only did they cut off my mic, they criticized me the entire show, which just shows that, exactly what we're saying is true, that CNN is not a friendly Trump network, and it won't be friendly to him on Thursday night."
This CNN encounter may have marked the first time that Leavitt has made national news as a Trump defender, but it seems like she has her own political ambitions. In 2022, Leavitt ran (and lost) for the U.S. House Representative seat in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District. Before that, she worked for a time in the Trump White House as White House Assistant Press Secretary.
Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire, and when she was younger, she worked at an ice cream stand owned by her family. She attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, MA, and spoke about what she learned there with New Hampshire Public Radio: "It taught me discipline. It brought me closer in my own relationship with God, and it also taught me the importance of public service and giving back to your community."
Karoline Leavitt has long wanted to be in journalism
After high school, Karoline Leavitt went to Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire where she majored in communications and played softball. Her CNN appearance — not the being cut off part — seems like it may have been a fulfilment of a longtime dream. In an interview on the podcast "Highlight Her," she revealed that she'd wanted to get into journalism for a long time, saying, "My family still has home videos of me pretending to be a reporter." But it was in college that she got into politics.
She was involved in the 2016 election as an undergraduate, particularly during the New Hampshire primary week and with Fox News. As she explained during an interview with Politico in 2020, "That experience was my first glimpse into the world of press, and I knew I wanted to pursue it in my career post-grad." She's certainly been able to work her way up quickly in the world of politics and media, and it seems like this won't be the last we hear from her.