Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary in American history, will step down at the end of August to spend more time with her young family, President Trump announced Wednesday on Truth Social. Leavitt, 28, gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Viviana, in May and returned from maternity leave last month.
“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary,” Leavitt wrote on X.
This is the right decision.
Leavitt’s tenure has been marked by defenses of the indefensible, a willingness to gaslight Gen Z as being raised with a silver spoon while she dug for gold, marrying a rich man 32 years older than her. None of that changes the fact that she is making a courageous choice now.
Being a mother is hard. Being a working mother is harder. Being the White House press secretary, one of the most demanding, high-pressure, scrutinized jobs in American politics, while raising two young children is nearly impossible. Leavitt looked at that impossible equation and chose her kids. That takes guts.
Too often in this administration, people have chosen power and proximity over everything else. Political operatives have sacrificed their reputations, their integrity, and their families on the altar of loyalty to Trump. Leavitt could have stayed. She could have convinced herself that she could do it all, or that the job was too important to walk away from, or that leaving would look like weakness. She didn’t. She listened to that voice and did what was best for her children.
That’s not weakness. That’s strength.
Leavitt served as a loyal Trump spokesperson: first during his initial term, then on his 2024 campaign, and finally as his press secretary through his entire second term. At 27, she was younger than Ronald Ziegler when he served as Richard Nixon’s spokesperson. She was polished, rarely stumbled, and delivered Trump’s messaging with precision. Trump praised her repeatedly, often in cringeworthy terms. (“It’s that face, it’s that brain, it’s those lips—the way they move, they move like she’s a machine gun.”)
She leaves with Trump at a historic low in the polls, facing discontent over rising prices and a seemingly endless war in Iran. The optics are less than ideal. But the decision is clearly hers, rooted in something more important than politics: her family.
She’s choosing to be present for her children during the years that matter most. She’s choosing to be a mother first. In a city full of people who would never make that choice, that’s worth lauding. Good for her.
