Karoline Leavitt Escapes From Trump On Holiday Trip With Her 'Grandpa' Husband

After months of coming up with vague explanations for her boss Donald Trump's many controversial decisions, Karoline Leavitt finally got some rest during Memorial Day weekend with her family. In snaps posted to her Instagram Stories, the White House press secretary twinned with her infant son Niko in a sweatshirt featuring the American flag. When their family sat down for a quiet picnic, the little one couldn't help but investigate the picnic basket to ensure that all his favorites were in there. Leavitt even posted an adorable video of Niko giggling as she tickled him too. 

Although the spokesperson only included a singular video of her husband pushing a stroller by the beach, he still became the center of attention because people just can't seem to ignore the fact that he's significantly, and noticeably, older than his wife. Leavitt and Nicholas Riccio have quite the age gap — he is a whopping 32 years her senior — and social media commentators never let the Trump staffer forget it, typically flooding her Instagram posts to question if he is actually her grandfather. 

Unfortunately, their jabs aren't that far off since Leavitt's parents are closer in age to her husband than we realized. In fact, even Leavitt made an embarrassing slip-up while discussing her massive relationship age gap during a March 2025 appearance on "The Megyn Kelly Show." While singing Riccio's praises, she made an unfortunate error by saying, "He's the father of my child and he's the best dad I could ever ask for." It seems the Internet criticism may have got to the White House press secretary's head given she most likely meant that he was a wonderful father to Niko.

In May 2025, Fox News issued a shady warning for Karoline Leavitt that put her age gap marriage to Nicholas Riccio on blast. Speaking on the network's "Jesse Watters Primetime," comedian Matt Friend quipped, "Karoline Leavitt, stay away from Bill Belichick" and then repeated his warning for extra effect (via X, formerly known as Twitter). The comedic impersonator was, of course, alluding to the former New England Patriots coach's girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, being 48 years his junior.  However, Leavitt doesn't seem bothered by all the criticism surrounding her decades-older husband since she frequently shares social media posts featuring him. What does seem to be getting under her skin, though, are the constant pressures of her job. 

When the White House press secretary returned to work following her Memorial Day trip, she sat down for a chat with Fox News' Sean Hannity, which led people to question her competence. Among other things, Leavitt vociferously defended Donald Trump's decision to halt Harvard's federal funding by stating that he intended to use the money to support educational institutions that "promoted American values." Additionally, she also implied that degrees from Harvard didn't add much value.

As Leavitt reasoned, "Electricians, plumbers — we need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University." While many commentators found these remarks homophobic, others were left scratching their heads at why she couldn't grasp both degrees being important to the economy in different ways. One critic even left a scathing burn for Leavitt: "This will forever be her legacy. I hope it was worth it."