TOI Washington correspondent: The oldest man to win the US presidency gets the youngest press secretary in the history of the White House.
MAGA supremo and President-elect Donald Trump was named Friday Karoline Leavitt27, like the White House Press Secretaryone of the most visible jobs in the world, continuing his rapid staffing of a government that still has two months left before coming to power.
Leavitt, the mother of a 3-month-old baby, most recently served as his campaign press secretary after serving as an assistant to four White House press secretaries he cycled through in his first term. A former Fox News intern, she is known for her combative style and disdain for the mainstream liberal media that she shares with Trump.
“Karoline is smart, tough and has proven to be a highly effective communicator,” Trump said in a statement announcing her promotion. “I have every confidence that she will excel on stage and help deliver our message to the American people as we: Make America Great Again.”
Leavitt surpassed other candidates, such as Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba and his confidante Laura Loomer, for the high-profile job that will require him to appear daily – if Trump wishes – at the lectern of the White House press room. During Trump’s first term, weeks passed without a daily briefing, with the MAGA supremo himself, never short of words, often taking charge of the stage.
Leavitt, a 2019 BA graduate, ran for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022 and lost, taking positions so far right that she was reportedly called KKKaroline in the state’s political circles. One MAGA fan described her as “everything the left hates: young, straight, blonde, Christian, beauty, brains and a mother!”
Her nomination is consistent with the choices Trump has made so far for MAGA loyalists, regardless of age, experience or qualifications, in an effort to break the stranglehold of the old-fashioned Washington establishment.
Some of the nominees have already sparked a backlash even within the Republican Party, even as Democrats are apoplectic about what they see as an impending “kakistocracy” — a government staffed by the country’s least qualified or competent citizens. Trump’s picks for defense secretary and attorney general have both been rocked by allegations of sex crimes, with questions over whether they can pass a confirmation process.
Reports surfaced Friday that Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department, was facing a police investigation into allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a California hotel in 2017 after a Republican conference. The incident did not lead to criminal charges. Trump’s AG nominee Matt Gaetz is facing even more lurid allegations of sex trafficking of minors.
The reports have alarmed Republican members of the Senate, who would normally be tasked with confirming nominees, but Trump has indicated he would simply bypass the process with recess appointments, even as MAGA loyalists stand ready to approve the appointments because they think the president-elect did it. the mandate to do what he wants.