Once again, President Donald Trump’s current press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, remains a hot topic online but not for her job title.
Trump named the 27-year-old as his official White House spokesperson after the MAGA leader won the 2024 presidential election, becoming the youngest person to hold that position.
After graduating from college in 2019, Leavitt, 27, worked during his first administration writing letters to constituents from the correspondence office. From there, she became assistant White House press secretary in Trump’s first term from May 2020 to January 2021. After leaving the administration, she ran a losing U.S. congressional race in New Hampshire in the 2022 election.
While Leavitt’s return to Washington for the second Trump term has made her a lightning rod for controversy as she defends the administration’s policies and extols the president, some critical X users are zeroing in on her appearance.
A two-photo collage of Leavitt posted on June 25 has gone viral. One photo dates back to 2021, while the other is labeled 2025, sparking widespread discussion.
A page on X shared the two images side by side, leading many to take notice of Leavitt’s appearance. One person responded, “She looks 10 [years] younger in 2021.”
Similarly, someone expressed, “She looked really nice in 2021. What happened?” A fourth stated, “She went from 21 to 38 in 4 years. Wow.”
One critic blamed Leavitt’s apparent transformation on her association with Trump, writing, “She was wholesomely beautiful at one time. It’s sad to see what happens to women once they embrace being a MAGA.”
Additionally, one Leavitt critic brought up her marriage to 60-year-old real estate developer Nicholas Riccio — a frequent target of gossip due to their 32-year age gap.
“That’s why she married a geriatric old man more than twice her age! She can afford all the work she’s had done! She looked so much better in 2021! I wonder who’s enjoying her, it sure isn’t him!” one person exclaimed.
Leavitt publicized the engagement ring given to her by Riccio with an Instagram post on Christmas Day 2023. She welcomed their son, Nicholas “Niko” Riccio, in July 2024.
The former communications director for Republican New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik married Riccio in January 2025, just days before Trump’s second inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20.
“I met my husband during my congressional campaign. A mutual friend of ours hosted an event at a restaurant that he owns up in New Hampshire and invited my husband,” Leavitt explained to conservative media figure Megyn Kelly in February.
When questioned on possibly having second thoughts about dating a much older man, Leavitt said, “Of course. It’s a very atypical love story, but he’s incredible. He is my greatest supporter. He’s my best friend. He’s my rock.”
Even as Leavitt draws fire almost daily for her statements to reporters in the White House briefing room, it appears that detractors online focus on her looks. In April 2025, another side-by-side picture of the Saint Anselm College graduate was shared by the same X account.
Those snapshots featured a picture of Leavitt from 2022 compared to a picture from 2025. The caption also suggested the press secretary is “sensitive” about being mocked for her facial features.
The constant attacks Leavitt faces mirror the tactics her boss is known for. Donald Trump has a long history of publicly mocking his political opponents over their physical appearance and using personal insults to discredit his perceived enemies.
At a 2015 rally in Myrtle Beach, Trump infamously made fun of Serge Kovaleski, a journalist who has the disability known as arthrogryposis. In 2017, the ex-host of “The Apprentice” also accused MSNBC commentator Mika Brzezinski of “bleeding badly” from a facelift.
