President Donald Trump repeated a joke about Karoline Leavitt choosing her children over him during her White House farewell on Monday. The outgoing press secretary announced her exit earlier this month, but Trump’s recycled quip raised eyebrows across social media and prompted questions about whether the humor carried real irritation.
Donald Trump’s comments about Karoline Leavitt’s family choice draw attention
“She decided she loved her children more than she loved Donald Trump. I’m very upset about this,” Trump told the White House gathering. He continued, “She has to go home and spend time with her children. That does happen on occasion with some people — when they love their children, and she does.”
A one-time joke would have passed without much notice. But Trump said nearly identical words at a recent rally for South Carolina Republican Senate candidate Darline Graham. The repetition has been flagged, noting the president made the same crack twice in four days. “And our press secretary and she just had a baby, and I just learned she loves the babies more than she loves Donald Trump. I’m very angry,” Trump said at the rally.
The repeated punchline shifted public perception. What might have been lighthearted now reads as a pointed aside from a president known for demanding loyalty. Donald Trump has praised Karoline Leavitt publicly, but the duplication of the joke undercut his supportive words for some observers.
The president announced Leavitt’s exit on August 12 through Truth Social. He wrote that she would leave to “spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!”
He also said Leavitt would become a top outside advisor and an influential Republican voice ahead of the midterm elections. Leavitt gave birth to her second child in May and returned from maternity leave in July.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
