Karoline Leavitt seems to be moving past President Donald Trump’s recent comment, which he made about her during a public news conference. However, she has brushed them all despite the growing scrutiny and criticism online, which followed the viral moment.
The exchange took place earlier this week when Trump conversed with reporters and complained about the negative media coverage he is often subjected to.
Citing unverified sources, he claimed that between 93% and 97% of press coverage about him was negative. He then turned to Leavitt and said, “A person that gets 97% of bad…maybe Karoline’s doing a poor job, I don’t know,” before directly saying to her, “You’re doing a terrible job.”
🚨 WATCH: President Trump jokes about firing Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
“You’re doing a terrible job” pic.twitter.com/NMNZNpDuJY
— Politics US (@PolitlcsUS) March 31, 2026
However, Trump immediately softened his remark, asking reporters jokingly, “Should we keep her?” before he answered himself, “I think we’ll keep her.”
Although it was soon made clear that it was a joke, the moment quickly spread online, gathering comments from people. Some even accused the president of throwing Leavitt “under the bus” to deflect the blame for his press coverage.
The White House later confirmed that the remark was a joke. Many reports suggested that Leavitt, however, was “visibly surprised” and “awkward” during the exchange.
According to The Irish Star, despite the growing attention to the matter, Leavitt has not responded publicly to the remark. Instead, she decided to move forward with her duties. A day later, she was seen appreciating Trump during a national address session.
On April 1, Trump spoke to the nation about the ongoing tensions with Iran. He said the U.S. military’s core strategic objectives were “nearing completion” and claimed the operation could end within two to three weeks. He also warned that the United States would strike the Islamic Republic “extremely hard” in the last stages to finish the job.
He also spoke about the economic concerns, including the rising prices of gas, telling Americans that prices would rapidly “come back down” soon.
Donald Trump: “I got 93% bad publicity. Some people say 97%. Maybe Karoline is doing a poor job. Should we keep her?”
Donald Trump asks as he is ready to throw Karoline Leavitt under the bus for his underwhelming public perception. People have been expressing mixed reactions… pic.twitter.com/7lpB0DaJm4
— Call For World Peace 2026 (@SumolaIdowu) April 2, 2026
While the event took place, Leavitt shared a BTS moment from the speech on Instagram. In one of the posts, the president was seen in the Oval Office before walking into the Cross Hall for his address. She captioned it, “behind the scenes of President Trump’s address to the nation.”
In another post, she uploaded a photo from the Red Room showing the speech airing on Fox News. She captioned it, writing, “Watching ‘backstage’ in the beautiful Red Room!”
Nevertheless, her posts showed that she has dismissed the ongoing online debate over the little incident that happened last week. However, the debate around the remark continued online.
