Polygraph

Karoline Leavitt was the youngest person to serve as White House Press Secretary at age 27.

Posted by Real Time with Bill Maher, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
5 support2 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
90%
Real Time with Bill MaherOct 24, 2026
View on Podcast ↗
Video frame
70 claimsThe check →

Multiple tier1 sources (AP, Reuters, NPR, BBC, Snopes) state Karoline Leavitt was the youngest person ever to serve as White House press secretary, and she was 27 when she took the job in January 2025. The claim's wording matches the post's 'youngest one ever...

What was said

… And you admitted it. I do like it. I do like it. It's better to talk, and look, let's talk about you first. It's not always about him. You're here. Let's talk about you for a minute. So you talk a lot like him. Why? No, I'm kidding. You were the youngest one ever to do this job, 27, youngest in history. Thank you. And you're still what, all of 31 or something?So what are you gonna do now? Well, I'm on your show, so that's a lot of fun. So no, I, um, I have two very young children, and that's why I left the job. …
Real Time with Bill Maher · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. AP reports Leavitt, the youngest person to ever hold that office, made her debut in January 2025 and was 27 when named White House press secretary.[1]

Supports. Reuters and NBC say Leavitt was the youngest person ever appointed to the role; Snopes notes she was then 27 when she began the job in January 2025.[2][3][6]

Supports. The official White House release describes her as the youngest person to ever hold the position.[5]

Context. Britannica states she was 26 when appointed, an unrated source that conflicts with the age of 27 given by AP, BBC, NPR and others.[7]

Context. Leavitt's departure in August 2026 does not affect the claim, which concerns her age when she took the role.[2][4]

Sources

7 sources: 4 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 tier 2, 1 not rated

  1. 1Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary, makes her debut in the briefing roomapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
  2. 2Karoline Leavitt is stepping down as Trump's press secretary ...snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
  3. 3Trump says press secretary Leavitt to leave job at month's ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
  4. 4White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is departing ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
  5. 5NEVER SURRENDER: Karoline Leavitt's Historic Tenure as White ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
  6. 6White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to step downnbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  7. 7White House Press Secretary | Definition & History | Britannicabritannica.com · not rated · cited for: context

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

How Polygraph checks a claim

Our Weekly Newsletter

The Readout

The week's most-shared posts, checked. What they claimed, how they argued, and what held up.

Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy policy.