Donald Trump named a White House press secretary on Friday, making him an aggressive defender of top aide Caroline Leavitt, 27.
The White House press secretary’s job is usually to help inform the American public about the president’s activities without violating the president’s trust.
“Caroline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a very capable communicator. I have the utmost confidence that she will excel on the podium…” the statement read. is written.
The challenge for Mr. Levitt will be to convey reliable information and earn the trust of reporters while maintaining strong loyalty to Mr. Trump. Mr. Levitt is seen as a staunch, on-camera Trump supporter who is quick on his feet and aggressively defends the president-elect in television interviews.
During an interview on CNN’s “This Morning” in June, Levitt got into a heated exchange with host Casey Hunt, leading to Trump’s much-anticipated debate with Joe Biden. He criticized Dana Bash and Jake Tapper for their “biased coverage” of the incident. Bash and Tapper served as moderators for the discussion. Hunt abruptly ended the interview when Levitt refused to be deflected.
Levitt will become the youngest person ever to hold the position of White House press secretary. Ron Ziegler was the youngest press secretary at age 29 when he was given the job by President Richard Nixon in 1969.
Levitt, a New Hampshire native, served as assistant press secretary during the latter half of Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
When Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, Levitt became communications director for Republican U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik, who was chosen by Trump to be ambassador to the United Nations.
Levitt ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire in 2022, winning the Republican primary. Although she lost the general election to Democrat Chris Pappas, the experience appears to have provided her with valuable public speaking experience.
She joined Trump’s 2024 campaign and serves as chief press secretary for the president-elect’s transition team.
Trump had four press secretaries during his terms from 2017 to 2021: Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany. During his first public appearance in 2017, Spicer falsely claimed that the crowd that gathered in Washington, D.C., for President Trump’s inauguration was “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration in person.” The behavior of the White House press corps was bad. all over the world. ”
Spicer was ousted after just six months in office, making him the sixth-shortest tenure since the position was created in 1929, according to data from the White House Transition Project. The average term of office is just under three years.
Sanders, currently the Republican governor of Arkansas, received praise from President Trump for dodging reporters.
After Sanders left, Trump turned to Grisham, who did not hold a press conference, which she said was at Trump’s direction. Grisham resigned following the events of January 6, 2021, and is now a sharp critic of Trump.
McEnany, President Trump’s last White House chief press secretary, sparred with reporters during the pandemic in 2020 and is now an on-air personality on Fox News.
