Karoline Leavitt's Anxious Habit Has Her Haters Constantly Calling Her Out

Even though, at just 27 years old, she's the youngest ever White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt often dresses way older than she is. It could be that the Trump staffer simply wants to be taken seriously as a young woman in a high stress job, but it's hard to tell. There do seem to be moments where the pressure gets to Leavitt, and one of her biggest tells is when she brushes her hair away from her face, even when it's not in the way at all. Hair touching can be a sign of nervousness, and it's sadly one of those popular habits that can annoy those around you. That certainly seems to be the case for Leavitt's critics. 

Leavitt: First of all, the CEO of Walmart made the comments on the tariffs on an earnings call where CEOs are legally obligated to give the most dire warnings and forecasts to their stakeholders pic.twitter.com/gFfPTXZl3c

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 19, 2025

Anyone who is in front of the press and cameras day after day will be reasonably nervous to some extent, but when it comes to the White House press secretary, people are calling her out for what could be a sign of that anxiety. There have been times when Leavitt's hair seemed to have a mind of its own, but this seemingly unconscious habit appears to go beyond fixing any errant strands. As one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, argued, "When she keeps playing with her hair, that means she's lying," while another thought that the hair flip was "a tell that she's stating the party line as told to her, word for word."

Alongside apparently being proof that she's constantly lying while simultaneously toeing the party line, there are also those who reckon that Karoline Leavitt's hair touching could be a play for time, with one X user positing, "Is that a nervous reaction when she knows she's really winging it I wonder?" Others seemed to agree. As one critic put it, "I think the fidgeting and hair touching are clear tells that she's nervous and out of her depth. It takes talent to lie that blatantly while also being clueless and appearing fierce, I'll give her that. Not that we should applaud it, but she's one of a kind. A bad kind, but still." 

Plenty of other people have called out the White House staffer on social media for what they deem frequent, and incessant, blinking whenever Leavitt is asked a question during press briefings. The average adult blinks around 14 to 17 times a minute, according to the Cleveland Clinic, so she seems to be doing a lot more. Likewise, excessive blinking can be caused by stress and anxiety. But it could also be that she simply has dry eyes.