In the Trump administration, lying isn't just a habit - it's the job description. And for Karoline Leavitt, who just wrapped up her stint as White House press secretary, that made her role both redundant and, apparently, quite easy to perform.

Historically, press secretaries engaged in something called 'spin' - a quaint art of arranging facts to put the administration in the best possible light. It required understanding reality, knowing which points to dodge, and gently guiding skeptical reporters toward the party line. Leavitt, by contrast, skipped all that nuance. Her technique was blunt-force repetition of talking points, laced with personal abuse and a generous helping of slander.

Take, for instance, one of her 'proudest moments,' as highlighted by the administration itself. On January 15, 2026, The Hill's White House columnist Niall Stanage asked Leavitt how to reconcile Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's claim that the department had done 'everything correctly' with the grim fact that 32 people had died in ICE custody over the past year, 170 U.S. citizens had been detained, and Renee Good had been shot and killed.

A competent spin doctor might have noted that deaths in custody don't necessarily mean negligence, or that mistaken detentions happen in any law enforcement agency. Leavitt instead asked Stanage why he believed Good had been shot, and when he said an agent had acted recklessly, she unloaded: 'You're a left-wing hack. You're not a reporter. You're posing in this room as a journalist.' She then demanded, 'Do you have the numbers of how many American citizens were killed at the hands of illegal aliens?' - without providing any herself.

She also complained that Stanage was degrading the profession of White House reporting, despite her own decision to hand permanent briefing-room seats to opinion journalists and influencers. So much for journalistic purity.

Leavitt's briefings weren't aimed at the press; they were aimed at the loyalists who already believe any bad news is a hoax. She spoke their language. And that's why she'll be easily replaced by another functionary from the vast pool of Americans who can hurl repetitive, childish insults. In a government full of memorable rogues, Leavitt will likely fade into obscurity - just another press secretary who debased the job by doing exactly what she was told.