Karoline Leavitt Defends Her Loyalty to Trump in a Cozy Bill Maher Interview

Karoline Leavitt appeared on Bill Maher’s Friday-night show and spoke warmly about Donald Trump, even as the host raised questions about the president and his decisions. Maher opened by asking about Leavitt’s own path, noting that she became the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary at age 27. Now 29, Leavitt said she left the job so she could spend more time with her two young children. The conversation soon turned to Trump. Maher said he supported the proposed White House ballroom and praised the president’s appetite for building and redecorating. Leavitt said she could not say whether Trump would carry out a threat to remove journalists from the briefing room and restore its former use as a swimming pool. Still, she and Maher agreed that Trump is a builder. Maher also said that, during the roughly seven hours he had spent with the president at the White House, Trump had seemed willing to hear criticism without pulling rank. Maher pressed Leavitt on whether anything might make her break with Trump, given that some Republicans have voiced dissatisfaction. She described him as both her former boss and a friend who had given her the opportunity of a lifetime. Leavitt said she knew his heart and believed he loved the country and wanted to do what was right. She recalled that Trump encouraged her when others questioned whether she was too young for the press secretary role, telling her that he had been building in Manhattan at her age and that she could do the job. The host also asked about Katie Zacharia, who briefly succeeded Leavitt and held the position for less than a week, giving one briefing. Leavitt smiled, then defended her successor. She said Trump was known for moving on from people, likening the pattern to his reputation on The Apprentice. The interview offered a friendly exchange between Maher and Leavitt, though the host did not avoid asking about her continued support for the president.