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MANCHESTER, N.H. – Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says she is helping President Donald Trump choose his next press secretary after his first pick for the job lasted just five days.
“I’ve offered my help to the president to help him select someone who can serve him and the country well,” Leavitt said Wednesday evening in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
Leavitt served as Trump’s press secretary from the start of the president’s second term until Aug. 27, when she stepped down from the demanding role to spend more time with her two young children, including a daughter who was born in May.
Her successor, political commentator Katie Zacharia, took over earlier this month, but lasted just five days in the role, making her the shortest-serving White House press secretary in U.S. history.
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White House press secretary Katie Zacharia arrives to a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“White House press secretary is a tough job. I know that because I did it, obviously for almost two years, and many people say it’s one of the hardest jobs in politics,” Leavitt emphasized.
She noted that the job “takes a lot of preparation and sometimes you don’t know how someone will perform until they go out there.”
“We wish Katie the best. The job obviously was not for her, but we wish her and her family well,” Leavitt added.
When it comes to whom Trump will choose next for the position, Leavitt said the president “is continuing to look over options. There’s a lot of people who want that job. It’s an amazing job. It provides you with incredible opportunities.”
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President Donald Trump, joined by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Aug. 21, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Asked what advice she’s offered to Trump, Leavitt said, “I’ll keep my private counsel to the president private, but I do obviously talk to him about what the job entails, and he knows it very well.”
“Nobody understands the press better than Donald Trump. He knows he needs someone who is tough, who is smart, who understands his policies, who is loyal, and who can go out there and put up a fight,” she added.
Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, served as an intern in the Trump White House after graduating from Saint Anselm College in 2019. She later became an assistant White House press secretary at the end of Trump’s first term.
After Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Leavitt worked as communications director for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York. She then served as spokeswoman for the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc. before taking over as press secretary for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
After being named White House press secretary following the 2024 election, Leavitt made history as the youngest person ever in the role.
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Karoline Leavitt, on the campaign trail in Londonderry, New Hampshire on Sept. 8, 2022, as she runs for Congress. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Leavitt also ran for Congress in 2022, winning a heavily contested GOP nomination in New Hampshire’s 1st District before losing the general election to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
Asked if she might make another run for public office in her home state when Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan is up for re-election in 2028, Leavitt quickly said, “No, I’m all set. I don’t have any plans to run for office in the near future at all, or in the future at all.”
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“I am home with my family, and we’re really excited about that,” she explained. “Right now I’m really focused on being a wife and a mother to my two very young children. That’s why I made the decision to leave Washington. So we’re just happy to be home and enjoying the ride.”
Leavitt officially becomes a Fox News contributor at the start of November.