During her college years,Leavitt became politically active with outspoken support for the first Trump presidency. Her op-eds in the college newspaper include a defense of Trump's 2017 travel ban and a critique of the news media.[12][13][10] She founded Saint Anselm College's first broadcasting club.[10] While in college,Leavitt worked at Hearst TelevisionWMUR-TV.[9][14] She graduated in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in communications and politics,[9][15] the first in her immediate family to earn a college degree.[16]
In 2022,Leavitt announced she was running for the US House of Representatives in New Hampshire's 1st district. The Republican primary attracted attention because both candidates were former Trump administration staffers.[20] Leavitt differentiated herself with a brazen style that resembled Trump's,and gained right-wing supporters including Lauren Boebert,Ted Cruz,and her mentor Elise Stefanik.[20][21] She criticized Matt Mowers with references to "the swamp" and "establishment Republicans" for his funding from outside PACs.[21]The New York Times described the candidates as ideologically similar and suggested the primary election was a matter of tone rather than policy.[21][20]
In September 2022,Leavitt won the Republican primary in a surprise victory.[3] She lost the general election to Democratic incumbent Chris Pappas by eight percentage points[22] and declined to run again in 2024.[23]
In 2022,Leavitt faced a Federal Election Commission complaint from End Citizens United alleging Leavitt's campaign and treasurer illegally accepted campaign donations over the legal limit and never repaid her donors.[24] In January 2025,Leavitt disclosed in 17 amended campaign filings $326,370 in unpaid campaign debts she had failed to disclose for several years.[24] Roughly $200,000 of the debt was composed of illicit campaign donations made in excess of campaign finance limits she never paid back,in violation of campaign finance laws.[24]
Trump press secretary
Leavitt addressing the press outside a Donald Trump trial in New York,May 2024
In January 2024,Leavitt accepted the role of national press secretary for Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.[25] In one press appearance on CNN This Morning,she was removed from air for criticizing CNN's debate moderators.[26] Leavitt was an instructor for Project 2025's "Conservative Governance101" training program.[27]
White House press secretary
Leavitt at her first White House press conference in January 2025
Leavitt delivered her first White House press conference on January 28,2025,during which she announced that independent journalists and influencers would also be able to apply for press credentials in the future.[16][29]
During the press conference,Leavitt falsely stated that "there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza". Leavitt's claim was shared on social media and repeated by Trump.[30][31][32]PolitiFact stated about the incident that "[t]here is no evidence that the U.S. earmarked $50 million in condoms to Gaza,or that it has recently spent $50 million on condoms in Gaza" and that while a State Department spokesperson said the government "stopped $100 million in funding to Gaza which included money for contraception",PolitiFact could not confirm that information.[30]
On February 25,2025,Leavitt announced that in the future her team would "determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office". The announcement was criticized by the White House Correspondents' Association who claimed that "This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States".[35]
On March 26,2025,White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made a statement regarding the United States government group chat leak that inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg,editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.[36] Leavitt questioned the credibility of Goldberg's reporting,referring to him as an "anti-Trump hater" and a "registered Democrat". She contrasted Goldberg's reliability with that of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,implying that the public should trust the administration's account over that of a journalist she characterized as biased. This statement came in response to The Atlantic's publication of screenshots of the group chat discussion on U.S. military plans for airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.[37][38] Leavitt's comments sparked debate about journalistic integrity,government transparency,and the handling of classified information in the Trump administration.[39]
Personal life
Leavitt is married to Nicholas Riccio,a real estate developer 32 years older than her.[40][41] They announced their engagement in December 2023 and were married in a private ceremony.[42][43]
↑ "Conservative Governance 101". Project 2025. Heritage Foundation. July 26, 2023. Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
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