President-elect Donald Trump announced his campaign national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will continue with him in the administration as the White House press secretary.
“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a press release.
“Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we, Make America Great Again,” Trump’s statement continued.
On the campaign trail, Leavitt was seen as a fiery, staunch defender of the former president. In her new role as White House press secretary, Leavitt will need to balance giving reliable information as well as gaining credibility with reporters during daily press briefings, while maintaining strong loyalty to Trump as he prioritizes loyalty in his second administration.
Leavitt, 27, will be the youngest White House press secretary in history. During Trump’s campaign, she tried to appeal to youth saying Trump had a unique appeal to younger voters.
“The president has a message that resonates with young people,” Leavitt told NPR in September. “If you want to live the American dream, be able to afford a home, have costs go down [for] gas, groceries, rent, and you want to be able to afford a family, then there’s only one option to vote for.”
She previously worked as an assistant press secretary under former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
After Trump’s departure from the executive office, she worked for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on her communications team.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
A New England native, Leavitt ran for office in 2022 for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District but lost the race. If she had won the race, she would have been one of the first members of Generation Z to serve in Congress.
Trump’s first administration saw four press secretaries: Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and McEnany. During Trump’s four years in office, he frequently, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, stepped into White House press briefings, preferring to take questions from reporters on his own.
