Karoline Leavitt is the youngest press secretary in American history.
Posted by Real Time with Bill Maher, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
Real Time with Bill MaherOct 24, 2026
Multiple tier-1 sources (AP, BBC, PolitiFact, Snopes) and the White House itself confirm Karoline Leavitt was the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history when she took the job in January 2025 at age 27.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… He wants to do what's right, and that's who he's always been to me. He's been nothing but kind, uplifting, encouraging. He did name me the youngest press secretary ever, and a lot of people told him he shouldn't, he shouldn't. He told me that. He said, "Honey, lots of people said you were too young, and I told them I was building buildings in Manhattan when I was your age, and you can do it." …
Real Time with Bill Maher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP reports that Leavitt, at age 27, is the youngest person ever to be named White House press secretary.[1]
Supports. BBC describes Leavitt as the youngest White House press secretary in history, noting that Ron Ziegler held the previous record at age 29.[5]
Supports. PolitiFact's August 2026 coverage describes Leavitt as the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, and Snopes says she was the youngest when she began the job in January 2025.[2][3]
Supports. The White House's own August 2026 release calls Leavitt the youngest person to ever hold the position.[4]
Context. Leavitt departed the role in August 2026, and Katie Zacharia was named as her successor in October. Neither development changes the fact that Leavitt holds the youngest-ever record.[6][7]
Context. Britannica gives Leavitt's age as 26 at appointment, which conflicts with the 27 given by AP, BBC and others, but it still names her the youngest press secretary in history.[8]
Sources
8 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 tier 1, 1 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary, makes her debut in the briefing roomapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is departing ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Karoline Leavitt is stepping down as Trump's press secretary ...snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 4NEVER SURRENDER: Karoline Leavitt's Historic Tenure as White ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5Who is Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House press ...bbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 6Karoline Leavitt, former White House press secretary, joins ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 7Katie Zacharia picked as White House press secretaryrte.ie · not rated · cited for: context
- 8White House Press Secretary | Definition & History | Britannicabritannica.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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