On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump named Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, to serve as White House press secretary.
Leavitt, 27, a New Hampshire native, is set to become the youngest White House press secretary in history. She is considered a staunch Trump supporter and served as press secretary for MAGA (“Make America Great Again”), a super political action committee supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign.
Thank you, President Trump, for believing in me. I am humbled and honoured. Let’s MAGA, Leavitt replied in a post on X.
During Trump’s first term, Leavitt worked in the White House press office. She then served as communications director for New York Republican Elise Stefanik, who Trump nominated as US ambassador to the UN. She ran for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022, winning a 10 per cent Republican primary before losing to Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas.
Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary. Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American people as we Make America Great Again,’Trump said in a statement.
The White House press secretary is generally the public face of the administration and traditionally holds daily briefings for the press corps. Trump broke those norms in his first term, preferring to be his own chief spokesperson. Despite having four press secretaries during his first term, he often preferred to interact directly with the public through his rallies, social media posts and his own briefings.
The youngest White House press secretary previously was Ronald Ziegler, aged 29 when he took the job in 1969 in Richard Nixon’s administration.
