Karoline Leavitt's Most Unprofessional Moments As Press Secretary So Far

Karoline Leavitt has really been going through it since she started working for President Donald Trump. From enduring criticism from Hollywood stars who can't stand Leavitt to the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history getting a brand-new nickname from Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, she's had a rough time of it, and reporters haven't exactly made life any easier. In fact, Leavitt and CNN's Kaitlin Collins have been making headlines for their petty interactions, so it should probably come as no surprise that the press secretary called reporters "a–holes" during a podcast interview. Was it unprofessional? Yes. Should we have seen it coming? Certainly. 

Leavitt shared on the "Ruthless Podcast" that, whenever journalists send emails with questions regarding the Trump administration's operations and cite experts, she does a quick Google search of their names. "It's my favorite thing," Leavitt quipped, claiming that these so-called experts usually turn out to be people who donate to Democratic campaigns. "We copy and paste their Wikipedia [entries] and we're like, 'These experts, a—hole? This is not a real story.'" As someone who works in media, Leavitt should know better than to take someone's Wikipedia entry at face value, but her unwavering belief in the authenticity of the open-source platform shouldn't exactly come as a surprise either. 

After the episode aired, netizens weighed in on X, formerly known as Twitter. "She's a complete unprofessional moron," one disgruntled user wrote. Another pointed out, "Wow, imagine the outrage if this were the reverse." Others argued that Leavitt's behavior was proof that the Trump administration was actively suppressing free speech. This was hardly the only time Leavitt behaved in an unprofessional manner, however. 

In a move that would likely have got her fired had she worked anywhere other than the Trump White House, Karoline Leavitt has taken to ignoring emails from reporters who include their pronouns. "As a matter of policy, we do not respond to reporters with pronouns in their bios," Leavitt wrote in response to an email from a journalist working for The New York Times. Further, she elaborated to The Washington Post, "Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story." Matt Berg, who writes for Crooked Media, told The Times that he found Leavitt and her colleagues' obsession with pronouns rather perplexing, arguing, "I find it baffling that they care more about pronouns than giving journalists accurate information, but here we are."

Davey Shlasko, CEO and founder of Think Again Training & Consulting, decried the White House press secretary's conduct as "childish and unprofessional" to HuffPost, especially since the Trump administration failed to understand why people included their pronouns in the first place. "[It shows] I'm a safe person to talk to. I care about how you want to be treated," Shlasko clarified, noting that Leavitt's treatment of these individuals reaffirms that the Trump White House can't be trusted to be allies to the LGBTQ+ community. Shlasko added that, aside from being disrespectful, this conduct serves as proof to many Americans that the administration has no interest in representing folks with whom they disagree.

Being the White House press secretary is a challenging job, and Karoline Leavitt frequently takes her frustrations out on reporters. She made headlines after ridiculing a group of journalists who were eagerly questioning National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in February 2025. While reporters were talking over each other in the hopes of having their burning questions answered faster, a clearly irritated Leavitt jumped into the fray, telling them, "Guys, let's act like adults here. They are generously offering their time to answer your questions, you don't need to scream at them like a bunch of schoolchildren," (via The National Desk). This wasn't the last time the Trump staffer ridiculed reporters during a press briefing either. 

She scolded them for behaving like "hounds" during a press gaggle a day after Leavitt was forced to field questions about who the administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) really was. The White House press secretary didn't have answers for journalists the day prior, and when the Trump administration finally revealed that former senior adviser for the U.S. Digital Service, Amy Gleason, was the acting administrator of DOGE, certain reporters understandably inquired as to why some of the DOGE employees they spoke to had no idea that Gleason was their boss. 

Leavitt quickly got irritated by this line of questioning and clapped back, "Everybody knew, and we said who she was to all of you. Because you are hounds in the media who are so obsessed with this for some reason!" (via the Independent). Keeping your cool as press secretary is key to doing a good job, but Leavitt really struggles with it. 

There's nothing more telling than fleeing a press briefing when you're bombarded with questions you can't answer, and Karoline Leavitt did just that following the infamous "Signalgate" scandal. For those who've understandably been trying to avoid the news, this term refers to the war plans that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared on a group chat on the Signal app. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz accidentally invited the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to join the chat and he, of course, ended up publishing all the messages. Instead of just admitting that Hegseth's team had made a mistake, Leavitt blamed the Democrats for the debacle. 

It's not entirely clear how she managed to convince herself of their responsibility in the matter but she also unsurprisingly blamed Goldberg, painting him as untrustworthy and an "anti-Trump sensationalist reporter," (via the BBC). CNN's Kaitlin Collins had some uncomfortable questions for Leavitt as a result, addressing the fact that the president's national security advisors had previously promised no war plans were disclosed in the chat, which turned out to be a lie. She also questioned whether President Donald Trump felt "misled" by said advisors after this came to light. Leavitt deflected, saying she already answered the question (she didn't). 

When Collins attempted to ask a follow-up, the press secretary ignored her and took another question instead. As she became bombarded with inquiries about Signalgate, Leavitt abruptly ended her press briefing. "Sorry it's a bit shorter today, guys. We'll see you later," she said before fleeing the podium (via YouTube). The Trump staffer engaged in similar behavior when she hastily concluded her briefing after opening the floor for questions when Patti Morin, whose daughter had allegedly been killed by an illegal immigrant, spoke to the press pool.

Karoline Leavitt would have less to worry about if she simply kept the drama confined to the White House press briefing room. Alas, that has not been the case. In February 2025, the Trump staffer took on AP News' Tara Copp on X when she posted about DOGE's shocking firing of several Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees. Copp professed that one endured harassment from DOGE on Facebook before the former staffer was even told their services were no longer required. Leavitt strongly refuted these claims: "More fake news from the @AP. 1. DOGE doesn't even have a Facebook page. 2. No air traffic controllers nor any professionals who perform safety critical functions were terminated." 

Both of these statements were questionable. There is a Facebook page for DOGE; whether it was set up by the department itself is unclear, but posts do line up with the department's X account, which is verified. As for the FAA officials who were fired, several reports contradicted Leavitt's assertion that no critical safety workers were let go. This wasn't the last time the press secretary got into a scuffle with reporters from AP either. 

She tussled with Josh Boak during a press briefing in March 2025, when he questioned whether Leavitt understood how tariffs worked. "Have you ever paid a tariff? Because I have. They don't get charged on foreign companies, they get charged on the importers," Boak pointed out (via Diario AS). The Trump staffer raised her hackles, snapping back, "I think it's insulting that you are trying to test my knowledge of economics and the decisions that this president has made. I now regret giving a question to the Associated Press."