President Donald Trump took aim at his own press secretary during a bizarre Oval Office moment, joking that Karoline Leavitt may be responsible for the “bad publicity” he receives, Wonderwall.com can reveal.
The 79-year-old made the comments while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, March 31, as he signed an executive order.
‘Bad publicity’
Referencing the 2024 election, Trump launched into a familiar rant about media coverage before abruptly turning on Leavitt.
“I got 93 percent bad publicity, some people say 97,” he claimed. “A person that gets 97 percent of bad… maybe Karoline’s doing a poor job, I don’t know.”
He then addressed her directly, adding, “You’re doing a terrible job.”
‘Shall we keep her?’
Despite the sharp remarks, a White House representative later clarified that the exchange was meant to be humorous, according to People.
Trump also appeared to walk it back in real time, asking reporters, “Shall we keep her? I think we’ll keep her,” before continuing to rail against what he called “fake press.”
“But I get 93 to 97 percent bad press, fake press, all fake,” he continued. “I won in a landslide. … People don’t believe the press.”
The president, who was elected with 49.8 percent of the popular vote, did not provide evidence to support those figures.
History of comments
Trump has repeatedly singled out Leavitt — the youngest press secretary in White House history — during public appearances.
In a previous exchange with reporters, he questioned her performance, asking, “How’s Karoline doing? Is she doing good? Should Karoline be replaced?” He later insisted that would “never happen.”
He also drew attention for personal remarks about her appearance, saying, “That face… and those lips, they move like a machine gun.”
Despite the off-the-cuff jabs, Trump has also publicly praised Leavitt in the past.
“She’s a star, and she’s great. I don’t think anybody has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline,” he said in an interview.
Leavitt, 28, previously served as Trump’s national press secretary during his 2024 campaign and stepped into the White House role in January 2025.
Karoline Leavitt mix-up
In March, Trump attempted to praise Leavitt but repeatedly referred to her as Kellyanne Conway, who served as senior counselor to the president during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2020.
“And, of course, Kellyanne Conway, has anyone ever heard of her?” the president asked his guests. “She’s fantastic. She’s in there fighting.”
“A friend of mine said, ‘You know that Kellyanne, I admire the way she goes in there and she screams at those people’ – meaning the media, because this is a man who doesn’t do very well with the media, it’s just one of those things. But thank you, Kellyanne,” he added.
