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Footage of Karoline Leavitt has resurfaced, just hours after she announced her resignation as White House Press Secretary.
The 28-year-old could be seen in a heated exchange with Donald Trump and his executive assistant, Natalie Harp, in the viral clip.
Leavitt confirmed that she was officially leaving her post at the end of August, explaining in a statement that she can't fulfill her duties as a mom while working as part of the Trump administration.
The president confirmed her departure in a Truth Social post, saying she was 'one of my most trusted aides', explaining that the decision was about family.
Theories have started to circulate despite Trump's words, with many believing that the US leader's decision to secretly exit a decoy plane to board Air Force One in Turkey last month was the last straw.
But now, others believe that tensions started to rise before this unfolded.
The fiery clip shows Leavitt in a heated exchange with Trump and his political aide, as speculation has started to build that this may have contributed to her departure.
One user posted the clip to X, noting: "In a LEAKED video from last night, she looks visibly isolated during a tense Marine One exchange with Trump and another woman. Hours later, she's out. Is the WH covering up something?"
Leavitt can be seen with her arms crossed, sitting across from Harp and Trump, while speaking to the former before yawning and pointing in her direction.
Both women could be seen glancing at their phones during the exchange, leaving the contents of the conversation completely up for discussion.
Another user noted: "A tense exchange between Karoline Leavitt and Natalie Harp and Donald Trump on Marine One last night. Today, Karoline Leavitt was fired."
Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the US President.
A third speculated: "Karoline Leavitt seen looking visibly worried. Unaware the camera is recording. She urgently gets on her phone after the signal. Then today she is out. What is really happening?"
It has not been confirmed whether this conversation contributed to Leavitt's decision, which she said was due to wanting to spend more time with family.
Trump took to Truth Social to confirm Leavitt's decision, penning: "Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!"
He also added that she was 'one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office'.
Leavitt posted her own statement on X shortly after Trump's announcement. It was longer and more personal than anything she has shared publicly since taking the job.
The Press Secretary added: "The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary - and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life."
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving her role at the end of this month, saying she cannot be the mother she wants to be while doing one of the most demanding jobs in American politics.
Trump announced the departure on Truth Social this afternoon, calling Leavitt 'one of my most trusted aides' and saying the decision was about family.
"Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!" he wrote.
He added that she had been 'one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office'.
Leavitt posted her own statement on X shortly after Trump's announcement. It was longer and more personal than anything she has shared publicly since taking the job.
"The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary," she wrote.
She called it a 'bittersweet decision' and said the past year and a half had been the experience of a lifetime.
She gave birth to her second child, a daughter, in May. She went on maternity leave the same month and returned to the briefing room podium in July. Less than six weeks later, she is leaving.
Leavitt is 28 years old, from Atkinson, New Hampshire. She graduated from Saint Anselm College and began working for Trump in 2018 during his first term as an assistant press secretary.
She went on to serve as national press secretary for his 2024 campaign. After the election, she was named White House press secretary in November 2024. She was the youngest person to hold the role in American history.
She was also the first woman to serve as press secretary while pregnant, announcing her second pregnancy after she was already in the job.
She is married to Nicholas Riccio, a real estate developer. They have two children.
She became known for a combative approach at the lectern, regularly sparring with the White House press corps in a style that Trump clearly valued.
She was the only person to hold the role during his second term. In his first term, he went through four: Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany.
Leavitt will stay until the end of August. After that, she moves to an outside advisory role, working with the Republican Party on the midterm elections in November.
Trump framed it as a promotion: "Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections."
No successor has been named. During Leavitt's maternity leave earlier this summer, press briefings became less frequent and the White House filled the gap by putting VP JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio behind the lectern instead, with mixed results.
The departure leaves Trump without a press secretary less than three months before the midterms, which is either a problem or an opportunity to install someone new depending on how you look at it.
Leavitt turns 29 on August 24, six days before her last day in the job.
An outrageous theory about the 'real' reason behind Karoline Leavitt's decision to step down from her role, has started to circulate online.
The White House press secretary is officially leaving her post at the end of August, stating that she cannot be the mom she wants to be while fulfilling her duties in the Trump administration.
Leavitt's departure was confirmed by Trump on Truth Social yesterday (August 12), as he described her as 'one of my most trusted aides', reiterating that the decision was about family.
The 80-year-old added that she was 'one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office'.
But some on social media claim to know the true reason behind her decision, and it's far darker than anything that's been said publicly.
CBS News reported this week that members of President Donald Trump's cabinet were on a decoy plane that he secretly exited before boarding Air Force One in Turkey last month.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were among those who remained on board what was thought to be Air Force One and didn't join a flight provided to Trump over security concerns involving Iran.
The President entered the aircraft on July 8, before hiding on a catering truck to be transported to a military plane.
Social media users have caught wind of this move and quickly drawn a link to Leavitt's departure announcement, as one wrote that it was "only days after finding out she'd been left on a decoy plane targeted by Iranian death threats."
Another user said that it wasn't "hard to figure out why," claiming that Trump took political aide and former television presenter Natalie Harp with him instead of Leavitt or any other cabinet members.
The speculation claimed that Karoline "finally woke the hell up," as she realized she could have been left motherless due to "how expendable she (and everyone else) was/is" to the President.
More people took notice of this detail too, as a third wrote: "I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Karoline Leavitt resigned as White House press secretary after being an unwitting decoy on Air Force One."
Political commentator Brian Krassenstein said: "Karoline Leavitt announced her resignation 24 hours after she found out that Trump left her for dead on a plane he thought could be shot out of the sky."
But that's not all, as someone noticed that her X post announcing her departure as Press Secretary was "Made with AI".
"I guess Karoline wasn’t a fan of being left to die on the old AF1 while Trump was scuttled to another plane via catering truck," they added.
"Good riddance to the worst press secretary in U.S. history."
"Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!" Trump wrote to break the news.
Leavitt posted her own statement on X shortly after Trump's announcement. It was longer and more personal than anything she has shared publicly since taking the job.
"The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary," she stated.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is reportedly under some serious strain because of her job working for President Donald Trump, as people have been studying her social media output.
Leavitt, 28, seemed to share more than usual on her social media accounts in a recent post, which has people wondering whether she is OK.
Having Donald Trump as a boss must be stressful at the best of times, but right now things are all over the place.
He’s currently embroiled in the all-encompassing Epstein debate, as well as promising most people in the USA $2,000, and calling reporters names on Air Force One.
There’s never a dull moment in Karoline Leavitt’s role as White House press secretary.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty
However, Leavitt is always put out there to defend her boss, whatever situation he might be in - from the fallout from the death of Charlie Kirk to some of the - shall we say - stranger allegations involving stories about Bill Clinton.
Still Leavitt keeps busy outside of work too, spending time with her family including her husband Nicolas Riccio and their baby son born in 2024.
Recently, she shared a number of stories on Instagram that got a few tongues wagging.
First off, she shared some harmless snaps from a recent trip to Palm Beach, writing about how ‘the ocean is [her] happy place’.
After sharing a few more pics from her swanky getaway with her husband, including her breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel, she then took a more personal turn.
Leavitt shared a picture from the Bible, sharing the underlined quote ‘for when I am weak, then I am strong’.
She then shared another quote that read: "What a privilege it is to have your bed taken up by a small human who thinks it's the safest place in the world to be.”
Over that image, Leavitt wrote "crying".
Speaking to Mirror US, clinical psychologist Christine Schneider of the Cambridge Therapy Center gave her own take on how Leavitt might be coping.
She said: "Working as a Press Secretary means living under constant pressure. Every word, every facial expression, and every pause is dissected by the media and the public.
"That level of exposure can be incredibly demanding mentally."
"Someone in Karoline Leavitt’s position likely faces chronic stress, anxiety around public performance, and exhaustion from the nonstop pace of her role.
"There’s often a need to stay composed no matter what’s happening behind the scenes, and that emotional control, while impressive, can come at a cost."
Schneider continued: "It’s what psychologists sometimes refer to as emotional labor: the effort of managing one’s feelings to maintain a professional image.
"Over time, it can lead to burnout, irritability, and difficulty switching off after work.”
If you will work for (presumably) the most stressful man in the world - as well as one of the most powerful - you might end up feeling a bit frazzled yourself at times.
Donald Trump has been speaking about his press secretary Karoline Leavitt once again, and this time, he has vowed to ‘never’ replace her.
Of course, because this is Donald Trump, he didn’t just stop there.
Some people have suggested that his approach to praising his secretary is perhaps a little over-effusive.
Trump, 79, was on board his personal presidential aircraft, Air Force One, giving an interview to journalists when he made the remarks about his 28-year-old employee.
He was supposed to be talking about international matters, but performed a trademark switcheroo - as he often does - to lavish some praise on Leavitt.
Trump asked the reporters: "How's Karoline doing? Is she doing good?
"Should Karoline be replaced?"
When the gathered pool of reporters said that she should not be replaced, he then went on to assure them that it would ‘never happen’.
When the questioning resumed, Trump decided to continue: "That face... and those lips, they move like a machine gun."
Trump has spoken about Leavitt in these terms before, as you can probably imagine.
Leavitt, who is the youngest press secretary in history, is clearly a favorite topic of his.
Back in August, Trump was speaking to Newsmax and was asked for his opinion on Leavitt.
He said: "She's become a star. It's that face, it's that brain, it's those lips — the way they move, they move like she's a machine gun.”
Then, catching himself on, he added: “Is she in the room?”
She was indeed, and Trump continued: “She's a star, and she's great.
“I don't think anybody has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline. She's been amazing.”
Leavitt worked under Trump in 2024 during his run for office, earning the White House gig in January.
However, she had been involved straight out of college, and was hired at the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence in 2019.
Leavitt is married to Nicholas Riccio, a man 32 years older than her, and the pair have one child together.
The pair met at a party in New Hampshire and have been together ever since.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has left fans stunned after she unveiled her latest family photo.
Leavitt, 28, shared a series of sweet snaps of her and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, 59, posing with their 16-month-old son, Niko, as the family took in the White House's Halloween festivities last week.
In the photos, Niko was seen wearing a pumpkin costume before meeting President Donald Trump and enjoying petting goats and hurtling down a slide with his mom.
However, it was a family photo of Leavitt, Riccio, and their son that had fans talking as some accused Leavitt of Photoshopping her husband's face after getting comments about their 31-year age gap.
One of her followers wrote: "Karoline, Awesome picture but my friends noticed something: The guy on the left seems to have only his face photoshopped. His hands look like 60+ years old. What happened?"
Others added: "Man that smoothing filter on her old man’s forehead working overtime," and: "Smooth face, wrinkled hands. Photoshop or Botox?"
Another commented: "Old man hands blow your cover up Karoline. Your husbands face does not match his hands."
Leavitt has not publicly responded to the comments or confirmed whether the images had been edited or not before they were posted to her Instagram feed.
Leavitt, who married Riccio in 2024, first met him in 2022 during her congressional campaign in New Hampshire.
“A mutual friend of ours hosted an event at a restaurant that he owns up in New Hampshire and invited my husband,” Leavitt shared during a February 2025 appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show. “I was speaking. We met and we were acquainted as friends.”
Riccio is a successful real estate entrepreneur from New Hampshire, who built a multimillion-dollar property empire with more than 15 rental properties in Hampton Beach.
Before meeting his wife, he faced significant financial struggles, including experiencing homelessness in his youth, but his persistence led him to become a successful businessman.
In her interview with Megyn Kelly, Leavitt acknowledged her initial hesitation about the age difference between them. "Yes, of course," she said. "I mean, it’s a very atypical love story, but he’s incredible. He is my greatest supporter, he’s my best friend, and he’s my rock."
She added that he supported her in pursuing her own political and professional dreams, revealing: "He’s built a very successful business himself, so now he's fully supportive of me building my success in my career."
Leavitt also praised Riccio for his parenting, adding: "He’s the father of my child, and he’s the best dad I could ever ask for.
"I say, ‘I walked into your life and it’s been a circus ever since,’ but God bless him because he’s fully on board.”
And while Leavitt's role is largely in front of the cameras, she tries to maintain as much privacy in her personal life as possible, saying per Yahoo: "I respect his privacy,” noting that Riccio is an introvert who avoids social media. "He’s my number one fan, the best dad, and just the best man I’ve ever met."
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