While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office as he signed an executive order on Tuesday, March 31, Donald Trump launched another attack on the press, this time referring to the 2024 presidential election. He said, “I get 93% bad publicity; some say 97%, but between 93% and 97% bad press, fake press, all fake, I won by a landslide.” He then joked and asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt if the bad publicity was her fault: “You’re doing a terrible job”.
Leavitt, 28, served as Trump’s national press secretary during his 2024 presidential campaign and landed the coveted White House press secretary position. Leavitt, who is also expected to take maternity leave next month for the birth of her second child, dismissed Trump’s comments as a joke, as a White House representative noted.
The president continued asking reporters, “Do we keep her? I think so,” before acknowledging the “bad press” he receives. “You know what that means? That people don’t believe the press,” said Trump, who was elected with 49.8% of the popular vote, without providing the source of his figures.
Trump frequently refers to Leavitt as the youngest press secretary in White House history. Even when asking reporters about her performance, “How’s Karoline? Is she doing her job well?” and the group of journalists expressing their support, Trump asserted that replacing her “would never happen.” “That face… and those lips, they move like a machine gun.” “She’s a star, and she’s great. I don’t think anyone has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline. She’s been incredible,” Trump concluded.
