Karoline Leavitt’s abrupt decision to walk away from the White House is facing fresh scrutiny after a Trump critic circulated video that appears to show the outgoing press secretary in an awkward exchange with President Donald Trump and his blonde aide Natalie Harp.
The X account Call to Activism shared the clip after Trump announced Wednesday that Leavitt would leave her post as White House press secretary at the end of August.
But there is one major unanswered question surrounding the footage: It is unclear when the exchange actually happened.
The account described the footage as “leaked” and claimed Leavitt appeared “visibly isolated,” raising questions about whether there was more behind her sudden departure.
However, there is no public evidence connecting the interaction in the video to Leavitt’s decision to leave the administration. There is also no verified indication that the footage was recorded shortly before her announcement, despite reports circulating online suggesting the two events happened within hours of each other.
The clip appears to show Leavitt sitting across from Trump and Harp during what has been described as a Marine One exchange. “In a LEAKED video from last night, she looks visibly isolated during a tense Marine One exchange with Trump and another woman. Hours later, she’s out. Is the WH covering up something?,” Call to Activism wrote.
Leavitt sits with her arms crossed as she talks with Harp. At one point, she yawns before appearing to point in Harp’s direction. Both women also look down at their phones during the interaction.
The short exchange quickly attracted attention online because it surfaced as questions swirled around the timing of Leavitt’s unexpected exit.
Leavitt, 28, became the youngest White House press secretary in history when Trump returned to office.
She only recently returned to her briefing duties after giving birth to her second child, daughter Viviana, in May.
Leavitt said family, not White House drama, drove her decision.
“The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary,” Leavitt wrote Wednesday.
She called leaving the administration a “bittersweet decision” and said she planned to “embark on a new chapter” in her life.
Leavitt is also the mother of a 2-year-old son.
Trump publicly backed her explanation and said he understood her decision to leave one of the most demanding jobs in his administration.
But Leavitt is not disappearing from Trump’s orbit.
Trump said she will become one of his “top outside advisors” and remain an “influential voice within the Republican Party” as Republicans head toward the midterm elections.
The president has not yet publicly announced her replacement. However, there is reportedly a list of possible contenders.
Before becoming Trump’s press secretary, Leavitt worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump, and later joined his 2024 presidential campaign.
She also worked in the White House press office during Trump’s first administration and later served as communications director for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York.
Leavitt launched her own congressional campaign in New Hampshire in 2022. She won a crowded Republican primary before losing the general election to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
As press secretary, Leavitt held fewer formal White House briefings than several of her recent predecessors, as Trump frequently fielded questions from reporters himself.
The administration also regularly deployed Leavitt on Fox News and other conservative media outlets to promote Trump’s agenda and attack Democrats and mainstream news organizations.
