Norms Impact
‘It’s Those Lips’: Trump, 79, Goes Gaga for Karoline Leavitt, 27
A president publicly reducing his press secretary to her lips collapses the line between public service and personal entitlement, degrading the basic workplace norm that government power isn’t sexual leverage.
Aug 2, 2025
Sources
Summary
President Donald Trump, 79, publicly sexualized and praised White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 27, describing her lips and their movement during a televised interview. The presidency was used to frame personal, appearance-based commentary about a subordinate as an endorsement of official performance. The result is a workplace and public-information apparatus where power and proximity can be signaled through personal objectification rather than institutional accountability.
Reality Check
Abusing the public megaphone to sexualize a subordinate corrodes the integrity of the White House workplace and signals that access and advancement can be filtered through personal objectification, not merit or accountability. This conduct is unlikely to be criminal on these facts alone, but it squarely violates core governance norms against abuse of office and the use of official power to create coercive, retaliatory workplace dynamics. When the nation’s chief executive normalizes that behavior in public, it weakens every worker’s expectation of a professional, non-coercive government and invites a culture where dissent can be punished through humiliation rather than lawful supervision.
Detail
<p>During a 20-minute interview with Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Friday night, President Donald Trump commented on White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s appearance while discussing her performance in the role. Trump said: “It’s that face. It’s that brain. It’s those lips, the way they move. They move like she’s a machine gun.”</p><p>In the same exchange, Trump said Leavitt has “become a star,” and added, “I don’t think anybody has ever had a better press secretary that Karoline.” Leavitt began working for Trump in January 2024 as his national press secretary during his election campaign and was later appointed to the White House position, becoming the youngest press secretary in White House history.</p><p>The interview also included Trump’s remarks on the Sydney Sweeney–American Eagle jeans ad controversy and criticism of a Bud Light advertisement featuring actor and trans woman Dylan Mulvaney. The White House was contacted for comment.</p>