Tragic Details About Karoline Leavitt

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has had to deal with plenty of backlash and criticism ever since she first made an appearance behind the podium in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Leavitt is the youngest press secretary in history — she stepped into the role at just 27 years old, and while this is indeed a great feat, her young age has also evoked plenty of criticism. Leavitt has accidentally exposed how Trump-obsessed she really is on a few occasions, and her unwavering loyalty to the president has given her critics plenty to work with, with some questioning whether she's really qualified for the job of press secretary.

"Karoline Leavitt's only qualification is Trump likes how she looks and lies on TV," one critic penned on Facebook, adding a clip of a quote from activist Brandon Wolf on X, who pointed out that former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had two degrees and 21 years of political experience under her belt when she assumed the post during the Biden administration. An opinion piece on Medium called Leavitt "a child in an adult's job," and even prominent figures like former CNN host Jim Acosta took a jab at Leavitt's age, likening her to a child "telling you a tall tale" during an interview on the MeidasTouch podcast. "She [Leavitt] might just get on Trump's all-star team of liars," Acosta added. "She might be on the bench right now, but if she keeps working hard, she does her homework, she just might make it onto the team."

Leavitt's age is hardly the only thing people's been critiquing, and it might be safe to say that her life has grown increasingly harder since she took up the post of White House press secretary — and the heat is only intensifying as Trump's second term continues.

Karoline Leavitt and her husband Nicholas Riccio have quite the age gap. And by "quite," we mean ginormous, as in, he could've been her father. Riccio is 32 years Leavitt's senior, and this little tidbit of personal information has had the internet talking non-stop. Leavitt accidentally put the major age gap with her husband on blast during the 2025 White House Easter Egg Roll. She posted a snap of her and Riccio posing with their baby son, and critics didn't hesitate to tear the press secretary to shreds in the comments.

"The tradition of bringing your dad and baby to the... oh wait, that's your husband.." one penned. "Beautiful picture of you and your daughter with her grandpa," another added. Some eagle-eyed pundits seemingly noticed that some of the negative comments about Leavitt's husband were disappearing, with one observing, "I believe you are deleting the negative comments." One couldn't exactly blame Leavitt for wanting to remove the vitriol from the comment section, but given the magnitude of negative comments that remain about her husband's age, she seemingly realized it was a losing battle.

Leavitt has evidently tried her best to make her relationship with Riccio appear as ordinary as possible, documenting a rare day off on her Instagram Stories in April 2025. She and her husband took their son to the zoo, and Leavitt shared several snaps of her family, including one of her husband holding their baby boy, which she captioned, "Dada always has our backs" (via the Irish Star).

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon told Politico that Karoline Leavitt is "tough as boot leather." That's probably true — one does not get appointed as White House press secretary at the age of 27 if you're timid. But Leavitt, much like her boss, doesn't always handle the press very well, and sometimes she loses her temper — take all Leavitt's petty interactions with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, for example.

Leavitt has been the subject of many negative headlines and social media posts thanks to her behavior towards some members of the press during her briefings. One critic took to X to post a video of Leavitt biting back at a reporter, dubbing the press secretary as "a pick me girl with daddy issues that kind of peaked in high school and now has a microphone," adding, "If she doesn't like the questions you ask her she just ignores you & moves on." This wasn't an entirely inaccurate observation. CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale dubbed Leavitt a "spinmeister" because of her tendency to dodge the hard questions (via the Daily Mail). Other detractors on social media have outright called Leavitt a liar.

New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker told Politico that Leavitt's manner of dealing with the press is unlike anything he'd experienced before (for context, Leavitt is the 17th press secretary Baker has worked with). He noted that tensions run high in the press briefing room and that, while this wasn't anything new, the atmosphere Leavitt creates "goes beyond anything that is traditional to the point of open hostility, and mockery and disparagement in a way that's meant for the larger audience, not for the people in the room." He added, "They view the briefing room as a theater for the MAGA audience."

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July 2024 arguably gave the divisive politician's election campaign a major boost, but it also meant that Karoline Leavitt had to leave her four-day-old son behind at home to resume her duties as campaign spokeswoman. "Being a mom helps me to be better at my job," Leavitt told the New York Post. "It gives me a great perspective on life and allows me to remember that not every bad day is the end of the world because my greater purpose is being a mom."

While speaking to The Christian Broadcasting Network in March 2025, Leavitt said she has experienced mom guilt. "But I spend every second that I possibly can with my son when I'm home on weekends and evenings," she added. She also got candid about the challenges she's facing as a new mom with a high-profile job during an interview on the "Post Run High" podcast. "It's an incredible challenge and it's something I still face to this very day, having to deal with that balance of wanting to be the best you can in your job and being the best mother that you possibly can as well," she admitted, adding that she often has to make sacrifices and sometimes even say no to work commitments in order to be home in time to put her son to bed.