White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had just gotten home from the hospital with her three-day-old son when Donald Trump was nearly assassinated as he spoke at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

It was at that moment that the 27 year old decided to cut her maternity leave short and return to her role as national press secretary for the Trump campaign and get her boss across the finish line. Those efforts led to her being named the youngest White House press secretary in history.

On Friday’s show, Leavitt joined Megyn to discuss what it is like to be a working mom with an infant and how she is balancing motherhood with the demands of her job.

Return to Office

Leavitt admitted that it was not ideal to return to work four days after giving birth, but becoming a mother during has given her important perspective. “[The assassination attempt] kind of threw me right back to work much sooner than I would have probably expected or hoped,” she shared. “But becoming a mother in the midst of this very chaotic political world that I work in has been the best thing I could have ever imagined because it gives you great perspective and it humbles you.”

That is in part, she said, because seven-month-old Nicholas – whom she calls “Nico” – is oblivious to her work. “My son doesn’t give a crap about my job. He just wants me to come home and snuggle and play toys and be present,” she shared. “It is a difficult balance to prioritize being good at my job and being good as a mother, but I just try to prioritize my time and carve out that time when I can.”

She said she has been able to make it work thanks to her loved ones. “I am so grateful to have the support system I do,” Leavitt added. “[I have] a great husband who can be very present with our child and then, of course, a wonderful mother and father and friends who chip in when I need them.”

Work-Life Balance

With the rise of the #TradWife trend on social media and the conversations it has sparked, Megyn said there seems to be a shift on the right about motherhood. “There is, I think, a good thing, which is the restoration of valuing so-called ‘traditional moms’… the women who take care of the kids full time,” she explained. “But it seems like, on the right, there has been a bit of a shift toward, like, you can’t do what Karoline is doing; that it is actually an unsafe, or a dangerous, or a bad choice for families and for children, which I reject wholesale.”

Leavitt agreed. “I would reject that it is a bad choice. Is it a tough choice? Absolutely. As a mother… you do have that maternal instinct,” she shared. “But also recognizing I am doing this work for my son and for all children to make this country better.”

This role, she said, is particularly unique. “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it is also very temporary,” Leavitt explained. “In four years, my son will be four years old, the president will no longer be at the White House, and then I will move on and do something else.”

Amid the “very long and hard days,” Leavitt said she reminds herself that, in her situation, the “chaos of 24/7 work is a temporary matter.” And she believes she can balance motherhood and her career. “I would reject that you can’t be a good mom and be good at your job. I think you can do both,” she said. “It is not for everybody. It takes a lot of work, and will, and faith, and prayer, and it is hard, but it can be done.”

White House insiders reveal how Karoline Leavitt mastered the most demanding role in the Trump admin and even Clinton aide agrees

Donald Trump‘s press secretary is being praised for having the relentless discipline and sheer tenacity it takes to fill – and keep – one of the most demanding positions in the White House.

At just 27, Karoline Leavitt has cemented herself as a formidable force within the second Trump administration, serving as the youngest press secretary in history.

Her rise has been marked by an unflinching commitment to Trump’s messaging – a trait that has earned her praise from the president and some grudging admiration from his critics.

Even Joe Lockhart, a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton, has acknowledged Leavitt’s effectiveness.

‘If you were to grade her on the conventional wisdom of the job she gets an F. If you would grade her on the current criteria, pleasing Donald Trump, she gets an A-plus,’ Lockhart said to the Wall Street Journal.

‘They’re always only speaking to their own people. They do not care about the rest of us, because they don’t need those people to keep Republicans in charge.’

According to former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer who served under George W. Bush, ‘The most noticeable thing I can tell about her is she is in the Oval Office with the president for much of the day. And I say that because she speaks Donald Trump fluently.

‘She knows his ins and outs. She knows what to say, what not to say. And she’s comfortable.’

Karoline Leavitt has been described as being ‘able to speak Donald Trump fluently’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is seen straightening the curtains behind President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House

 

The New Hampshire native’s defining moment came in July 2024, just days after giving birth to her son.

While tending to her child, a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed Trump’s ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and Leavitt made a stunning decision to return to work just four days later.

‘The President literally put his life on the line to win this election,’ she later explained. ‘The least I could do is get back to work quickly.’

She’s the sixth working mother in a row to hold the post.

Such fierce devotion shows why Trump has entrusted her with one of the most grueling roles in Washington.

In the few weeks since stepping behind the lectern, she has proven to be a quick-witted and unflappable spokesperson, batting down hostile questions from the press with a mix of sharp precision and biting, dismissive comebacks.

‘So you’re asking a hypothetical based on programs you can’t even identify?’ she scoffed at one White House reporter, setting the tone for how she intends to manage the often-adversarial press corps.

Her no-nonsense approach has sparked both admiration and criticism, but those who know her best say she thrives in high-pressure situations.

 

Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump’s Second 100 Days – The podcast bringing you the latest news and gossip from the White House. Listen here.

Leavitt is known to spend most of her day alongside Donald Trump in the Oval Office

Reporters raise their hands to question White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing last week at the White House in Washington DC

At just 27, Leavitt has cemented herself as a formidable force within the White House , serving as the youngest press secretary in history

 

Under Leavitt’s watch, the traditional press briefing format has been radically restructured.

She has made it clear that legacy media will no longer be prioritized, opening up the briefing room to influencers, TikTokers, independent journalists, and conservative content creators.

Leavitt started the question period in her very first briefing by calling on the outlets Axios and Breitbart News, saying that non-traditional outlets would play a bigger role going forward in the White House.

‘I believe the best way to be successful at my job is to listen to [President Trump] as much as possible and hear every word he says publicly, and then to talk to him privately about his thinking, so I can articulate his message as effectively as possible,’ Leavitt said about her role.

The shift has not been without controversy. The Associated Press was barred from several White House events after refusing to adopt Trump’s rebranding of the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America.’

When the AP protested, Leavitt was unmoved.

‘It is a privilege to cover this White House,’ she told reporters. ‘It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the ‘Gulf of America,’ and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that. But that is what it is.’

Joe Lockhart, left, a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton from 1998–2000 has acknowledged Leavitt’s effectiveness

Trump himself described her as ‘a star is born’ at a recent White House event

Leavitt’s rise has been marked by an unflinching commitment to Trump’s messaging – a trait that has earned her unwavering praise from the president himself a

Her unapologetic stance has drawn the ire of traditional news organizations and press freedom advocates.

‘It’s alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,’ AP executive editor Julie Pace stated. The White House Correspondents’ Association called the move ‘a textbook violation of the First Amendment.’

Leavitt, however, remains steadfast in her approach. ‘We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House,’ she warned in one of her earliest press conferences.

Despite her controversial handling of the press, Leavitt has garnered significant support among Trump loyalists, who see her as a fierce warrior against media bias.

‘Overall, I think she’s killing it,’ said Sean Spicer, Trump’s first spokesman who lasted six months in the role during Trump’s first term. ‘Admittedly, I’m a little jealous.’

Trump himself described her as ‘a star is born’ at a recent White House event.

Navigating the Trump presidency also requires an unparalleled ability to anticipate his impulses, translate his off-the-cuff remarks into policy statements, and control the media narrative.

 

Leavitt has garnered significant support among Trump loyalists, who see her as a fierce warrior against media bias

Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is seen holding her first press briefing at the White House on January 28. Leavitt answered questions about the president’s executive actions and his administration’s freeze on federal aid

Leavitt appears to have the ability to anticipate Trump’s impulses and translate his off-the-cuff remarks into policy statements, while also controlling the media narrative

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt walks away at the end of the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room on January 31

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up receipts from government contracts identified by DOGE as wasteful, during a press briefing at the White House

Leavitt has made it clear that legacy media will no longer be prioritized, opening up the briefing room to influencers, Tiktokers, independent journalists, and conservative content creators

hite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, second from right, arrives to speaks to the media at the White House earlier this month

 In his first term, Leavitt applied for a White House internship and was ‘stunned’ to be accepted. She worked in the correspondence office, where she wrote letters in the president’s name

Leavitt posted an image with media icon Kim Kardashian during a trip to Washington during Trump’s first term

 

Leavitt’s defenders argue that it is her ability to channel Trump’s voice so effectively which is exactly what makes her an asset in this unprecedented White House.

Leavitt’s rise to prominence began with a political awakening in college.

A former athlete at Saint Anselm College, a liberal arts school in Manchester, New Hampshire, she pivoted from sports to politics.

She played on the softball team and graduated in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in politics and communication, the first in her immediate family to earn a college degree, working her way into Trump’s first administration through sheer persistence.

Leavitt ‘quickly learned it wasn’t athletics I was interested in. It was politics, public service, news,’ she told a county Republican group in New Hampshire in 2022 as she explored running for Congress.

She wanted to be a reporter, and even worked for local TV station WMUR, but ultimately was ‘glad I didn’t continue down that path, working on the dark side.’

She wanted to get involved in the political process. Trump was the inspiration to her.

In his first term, Leavitt applied for a White House internship and was ‘stunned’ to be accepted. She worked in the correspondence office, where she wrote letters in the president’s name.

Afterwards she moved to Kayleigh McEnany’s press team, where she quickly became a trusted deputy.

‘I was immediately impressed by her evident drive and her genuinely positive demeanor,’ McEnany, now a co-host of Fox News Channel’s Outnumbered, said.

‘Karoline is sharp, professional, and enterprising, and I knew that I wanted to hire her on the spot.’

Leavitt (second from left) dons an American Flag sweater as she poses with supporters at a Karoline for Congress event during a 2022 run

Leavitt, pictured with a slew of ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ paraphernalia, has shared her pro-life views

After Trump lost reelection, Leavitt joined Rep. Elise Stefanik’s office as her communications director

Leavitt wanted to get involved in the political process and says Trump was an inspiration to her

Leavitt still maintains, as does Trump, that the 2020 election was stolen from him despite the findings of courts, independent watchdogs and Trump’s then-attorney general

Leavitt’s experience on the campaign trail made her even more formidable in handling aggressive media scrutiny

Karoline Leavitt, 27, is the youngest White House press secretary in history

Leavitt scrapped planned maternity leave and went back to work four days after giving birth

Her black and white Election Day ensemble caused quite a stir on X with some adoring the gothic character-inspired look

Her ascent continued post-2020, working as communications director for Rep. Elise Stefanik, where she played a key role in reshaping the GOP’s messaging after January 6. Stefanik was one of Trump’s staunchest defenders in the House.

‘It was clear from day one, when I hired Karoline, she was going to have a very bright future and be on a rocket ship,’ Stefanik said to WSJ.

Leavitt still maintains, as does Trump, that the 2020 election was stolen from him despite the findings of courts, independent watchdogs and Trump’s then-attorney general.

Leavitt later ran for Congress in 2022, losing in the general election but proving her ability to hold her own in national politics.

Insiders say that despite her congressional loss, her experience on the campaign trail made her even more formidable in handling aggressive media scrutiny.

Leavitt was national spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, traveling and aggressively promoting his policies and defending him during frequent TV appearances. She did the same during the transition after Trump was reelected.

‘Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator,’ Trump said. ‘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 is known for cycling through press secretaries at breakneck speed with at least four in his first administration although he frequently prefers to engage directly with the public, from his rallies, social media posts and his own press briefings.

Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders were known for quarreling with reporters.

Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the White House press briefing room

Anthony Scaramucci lasted just 10 days in his role as White House Communications Director

Trump’s first press secretaries, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, were known for quarreling with reporters.

Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the White House press briefing room.

Others in the communications department had the briefest of stays – the most infamous being Anthony Scaramucci who lasted just 10 days in his role as White House Communications Director.

But Leavitt’s ability to match Trump’s combativeness and loyalty may ensure her longevity in the role – and not just as another spokesperson but as the face of the new MAGA sisterhood and rising conservative star.