Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary at age 27, marked her debut in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Tuesday, positioning herself at the forefront of a new era of press interactions under Donald Trump's administration. Leavitt announced that podcasters and social media influencers would soon have the opportunity to participate in future briefings, signaling a shift towards wider media engagement. She began the session by highlighting Trump as "the most transparent and accessible president in American history," before calling on Mike Allen from Axios for the first question.
Trump's earlier term was marked by disruption of typical press norms, as he took on the role of chief spokesperson, holding fewer briefings and preferring direct engagement through rallies and social media. During this period, Trump had four press secretaries—Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany—with Grisham notably not holding any briefings during her nine months in the role.
Trump had previously praised Leavitt during her appointment announcement, saying: "Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator." Her predecessor in the record books for age was Ronald Ziegler, who took the position at 29 under President Richard Nixon. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)