Karoline Leavitt
Karoline Claire Leavitt, born on 24 August 1997,[1] is an American political aide and government official. She has been serving as the 36th White House press secretary since January 2025 during the second Trump administration, making her the youngest individual to hold this position in history.[2]
Karoline Leavitt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Leavitt in 2025 | |
| 36th White House Press Secretary | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Anna Kelly Kush Desai |
| Preceded by | Karine Jean-Pierre |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Karoline Claire Leavitt August 24, 1997 Atkinson, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Nicholas Riccio ( m. 2024) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Saint Anselm College (BA) |
CareerLeavitt previously worked as a presidential writer and assistant press secretary to Kayleigh McEnany during the first Trump administration. Following Trump's loss in the 2020 election, she became an instructor for the Project 2025 "Conservative Governance 101" training program. In 2022, she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Hampshire's 1st district, winning the Republican nomination but ultimately losing the general election to Democratic incumbent Chris Pappas. Additionally, she served as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump Super PAC, and was the national press secretary for the Trump 2024 presidential campaign.
Early Life and EducationEdit
Leavitt was born in Atkinson, New Hampshire, into a family that owned an ice cream shop and a used truck dealership in Plaistow. She graduated from Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 2015 and then attended Saint Anselm College, where she received a scholarship to play softball. During her college years, she became politically active, expressing strong support for Trump's first presidency through op-eds in the college newspaper, where she defended Trump's 2017 travel ban and critiqued the news media. Leavitt founded the first broadcasting club at her college and interned at Hearst Television WMUR-TV and Fox News. The summer before her senior year, she worked as a writer in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence and returned briefly after graduating in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in communications and politics. She is the first in her immediate family to earn a college degree.
Personal LifeEdit
Leavitt is a Roman Catholic and credits her Catholic education for instilling pro-life values, discipline, and a commitment to public service. She is married to Nicholas Riccio, a real estate developer who is 32 years her senior. They announced their engagement in December 2023 and were married in a private ceremony in January 2024. Leavitt gave birth to their son on July 10, 2024. Although she initially planned to take maternity leave, she chose to resume her professional duties after witnessing the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania that same month.
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ "Birthday of the Day: Karoline Leavitt, White House assistant press secretary". Politico. August 24, 2020. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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