Karoline Leavitt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karoline Leavitt
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Leavitt in 2025
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| 36th White House Press Secretary | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Karine Jean-Pierre |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Karoline Claire Leavitt
August 24, 1997 Atkinson, New Hampshire, US |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Nicholas Riccio
(m. 2025) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Saint Anselm College (BA) |
Karoline Claire Leavitt (/ˈlɛvɪt/ LEV-it; born August 24, 1997) is an American political spokesperson. Since 2025, she has been the 36th White House press secretary for Donald Trump's second time as president. She is a member of the Republican Party. Before this, she ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in New Hampshire in 2022 but did not win.
Leavitt studied politics and communication at Saint Anselm College. She wrote for the school newspaper and started a broadcasting club. She also worked as an intern at the White House. Later, she became an assistant White House press secretary. After Donald Trump's first presidency ended, she worked for New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik. In 2024, she became the press secretary for Donald Trump's presidential campaign. In November 2024, Donald Trump chose Leavitt to be his White House press secretary. She is the youngest person ever to hold this important job.
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Early Life and Education (1997–2019)
Karoline Claire Leavitt was born on August 24, 1997. She grew up in Atkinson, New Hampshire. She is the youngest of four children. Her family owns an ice cream stand in Atkinson. Her father owns a used truck dealership in Plaistow.
Leavitt went to Central Catholic High School. This is a private Catholic school in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She played softball and was a top player in 2014 and 2015. She has said her Catholic education taught her important values. These values include faith, family, discipline, and the importance of public service.
In 2015, Leavitt started attending Saint Anselm College. She received a scholarship to play softball there. She studied communications and also learned about political science. She first interned with a sports news company. Later, she became more interested in political journalism. She worked as an ambassador for the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. She also interned for a U.S. senator and a local TV station. She stopped playing softball after her second year of college.
Leavitt applied for an internship at a news channel. Instead, she interned at the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence. There, she wrote letters for the president. She also started a broadcasting club at her college. She wrote for the college newspaper, the Saint Anselm Crier. Her writings showed her conservative views. She graduated in 2019. She was the first person in her close family to graduate from college.
Career in Politics
Working at the White House (2019–2021)
After college, Leavitt got a full-time job at the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence. She answered letters sent to the president. By June 2020, she was an associate director there. That same month, she became an assistant White House press secretary. She attended an event at the White House where a new judge was nominated. This event was later linked to a White House COVID-19 outbreak. Leavitt later tested positive for the virus. In January 2021, she became the communications director for New York representative Elise Stefanik. This was just weeks before Donald Trump left office.
Running for Congress (2021–2022)
On July 19, 2021, Leavitt announced she would run for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. She wanted to represent New Hampshire's first congressional district. She ran as a Republican. She said she decided to run after President Joe Biden changed many policies. She also mentioned that her social media account was briefly suspended.
Her campaign focused on her experience working for the Trump administration. She wanted to be seen as the most supportive candidate of Donald Trump. She officially joined the race in June 2022. She won the Republican primary election in September. This was a surprise victory. However, she lost the main election to the current Democratic representative, Chris Pappas.
After the Election (2023–2025)
After losing the election, Leavitt started working for MAGA Inc.. This is a group that supports Donald Trump. She also became the national press secretary for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign in January 2024.
In December 2023, Leavitt got engaged to Nicholas Riccio. They met during her congressional campaign. Leavitt had a son with Riccio in July 2024. She named the baby after him. Days later, there was an attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Leavitt was offered time off to be with her baby. However, she returned to work quickly after the event. She married Riccio in January 2025, just before Trump's second inauguration.
White House Press Secretary (2025–present)
On November 15, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Leavitt would be his White House press secretary. She is the youngest person to ever hold this position. Her office in the White House is smaller than what previous press secretaries had.
Leavitt held her first press conference on January 28, 2025. She started by saying she wanted to include new types of media. She also made a statement about money for the Gaza Strip that was later found to be incorrect.
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In May 2025, a photo of Leavitt feeding her son while working gained international attention. As the White House press secretary, Leavitt helped media access during important events. For example, at the signing of the Congo-Rwanda peace agreement, she introduced an Angolan journalist to the Oval Office. The journalist spoke positively about the Trump administration. This moment became very popular online.
Political Views
Leavitt's campaign for Congress focused on several key ideas. She wanted to lower taxes and reduce rules to help small businesses. She also aimed to challenge certain ideas taught in public schools. She supported school choice, which means families can choose where their children go to school. She also wanted to make voting rules stricter and increase funding for the police.
She supported Donald Trump's immigration policies. She was against rules that require people to get vaccine mandates. Leavitt also believes that a law called Section 230 should be changed. This law protects websites from being responsible for what users post.
Leavitt has stated that Donald Trump was the true winner of the 2020 presidential election. She said there were "irregularities and chaos" because of rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she also acknowledged that Joe Biden was officially confirmed as the winner. She spoke out against the January 6 Capitol attack. But she does not believe that Trump caused the attack.
Images for kids
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Karoline Leavitt in 2025
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Saint Anselm College, where Leavitt studied (pictured in 2010)
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Leavitt speaking to reporters during a court case involving Donald Trump in New York
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Leavitt at her first White House press conference, January 2025
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Leavitt holds her son while typing, White House, May 2025.
See also
In Spanish: Karoline Leavitt para niños
