At the end of the month, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will end a tenure that many consider to be one of the best in the 97-year history of the office.Importantly, she will leave something behind — a vital legacy of opening the briefing room to independent media.Leavitt handled her office with grace and dexterity, no mean feat for someone communicating for President Donald Trump, who talks more than a morning radio disc jockey.
Somehow, she was never in front of his messaging, but also never far behind.As a queen of cool, Leavitt could not be flustered.She always had an air of confidence and, dare I say, levity.
Even when her occasional jocular barbs were tossed at reporters, they rarely turned into acrimony.FILE - White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2026.She announced her upcoming resignation Aug.
12.(SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)SCRAMBLE FOR KAROLINE LEAVITT'S REPLACEMENT ENSUES WITH JUST WEEKS UNTIL TRUMP'S SPOKESPERSON EXITSBeyond serving as a model for future press secretaries, Leavitt’s strongest legacy will be her commitment to opening up the White House media ecosystem to small indie news outlets and even social media influencers.Every press conference opens with a question from the "new media seat," a practice that was much maligned early on by fussy old legacy outlet reporters who rolled their eyes at these commoners gaining entry to their fancy club.I recall a friend of mine, who was new to the briefing room, telling me of an old regular huffing and puffing and saying, "This is where I stand, you have to move!"She did not move.FILE - Reporters raise their hands to ask questions during a press briefing by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov.
4, 2025.Leavitt said she would be leaving the role to prioritize her two young children.
(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)WHITE HOUSE...