Trump's Creepy Praise For Karoline Leavitt Has Us Side-Eyeing Their Relationship (Watch Out, Melania!)
People are starting to side-eye the relationship between President Donald Trump and Karoline Leavitt, and Trump isn't giving them much reason to look away. His latest comments about the White House press secretary have triggered even more speculation that their interest in each other is more than just business-related. The August 1 edition of Newsmax's "Finnerty" show featured an interview with the president which offered some insight way beyond his "vision for America's future" that was promised on the outlet's website.
The secretary was present during the interview, which seemed to surprise host Rob Finnerty. Toward the end of the session, Finnerty asked the president his opinion of her, cautioning (per Newsmax, via Mediaite), "If you don't want to answer this — I didn't realize she would be in the room, but she's on my list: Karoline Leavitt." But Trump wasn't shy about responding. "She's become a star," he said. "It's that face, it's that brain, it's those lips, the way they move — like she's a machine gun." Then the president gave a sly glance off camera and smiled as he asked, "Is she in the room?" and went on to declare that no one had ever had a better press secretary. (Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany might not have been thrilled to hear that.)
Trump's description of Leavitt — particularly the way he drew out the word "lips" — was as creepy and awkward as anything Michael Scott of "The Office" ever said about Jan or Pam. Finnerty laughed, but he seemed uncomfortable as well.
Trump and Leavitt don't have a typical work relationship
As could be expected, social media lit up with reactions to President Trump's comments about Karoline Leavitt. The words "creepy" and "ick" came up frequently on X (formerly Twitter), as did references to the Epstein files, Monica Lewinsky and Trump's famous "grab 'em by the..." quote. One user suggested First Lady Melania Trump might need to watch her back: "Is Melania checking her prenup? Sounds like he's looking for his next wife." Others were appalled by the unprofessional behavior of the man who holds the nation's highest office. "If any of my bosses had ever talked about any of their female employees in that way, they would be up in front of HR so fast," went a representative comment. "That's just so disgusting."
No one outside the room knows what Leavitt's reaction was to having the president talk about her in that way, but it probably didn't surprise her. As she recently revealed on the "Ruthless" podcast, Trump regularly calls her "honey" during their morning briefings. Is she secretly bothered by the level of disrespect she's getting on the job? Leavitt and the president may be friendly, but Trump rules the White House with an iron fist, and not even she is safe from the metal knuckles. When the secretary misstated a figure during a recent press conference, the president was quick to slip her a note with a correction she was expected to read on the spot. The stress of the high-level job, coupled with the sexism of her boss, may lead Leavitt to pivot into mom life and away from D.C. earlier than she planned.