Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt joins Fox News as commentator
In short
Fox News announced on Oct 5 that it had hired former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt as a commentator on its news programmes, with her first appearance set for Nov 1. Leavitt, 29, was the youngest person to hold the White House press secretary post in the second Trump administration and left it in August, saying she wanted to prioritise family time. Fox News is known for coverage favourable to the Trump administration.
Read the full story 1 min read
Fox News announced on Oct 5 that it had hired former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt as a commentator on its news programmes, with her first appearance set for Nov 1, Sankei Shimbun reported. The network is known for coverage favourable to the Trump administration, the report said. [ 3 ]
Leavitt said she looked forward to bringing viewers a unique perspective gained from her experience as White House press secretary, according to Sankei. She took the post in the second Trump administration that began in January 2025 as the youngest person ever to hold it, and stepped down in August this year, saying she wanted to prioritise time with her family after the birth of her second child in May, the report said. [ 3 ]
Tokyo Shimbun and Nishi-Nippon Shimbun also carried the appointment, in headline reports identifying Leavitt as a former US press secretary moving to conservative Fox. Neither added details beyond the fact of the move. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The move puts a former Trump administration spokesperson on a network the documents describe as known for a Trump-friendly stance, adding to the traffic between the administration and conservative media. For readers outside the United States the story is mainly a personnel and media-industry item, with the documents giving no indication of wider policy consequences.
Key facts
- Fox News announced on Oct 5 that it had hired former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt as a commentator on its news programmes [ 3 ]
- Leavitt, 29, will begin appearing on Nov 1 [ 3 ]
- Leavitt served as White House press secretary in the second Trump administration that began in January 2025, and was the youngest person to hold the post [ 3 ]
- She stepped down in August this year, saying she wanted to prioritise time with her family after the birth of her second child in May [ 3 ]
- Fox News is known for coverage favourable to the Trump administration [ 3 ]
- Leavitt said she looked forward to bringing viewers a unique perspective from her experience as White House press secretary [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Which programmes Leavitt will appear on, and the terms of her role No document states these details; the reports mention only that she will be a commentator on news programmes.
- The claims that Leavitt was the youngest White House press secretary in history and that she left the post to prioritise family time are reported by a single outlet These specifics appear only in the Sankei Shimbun report, attributed to Kyodo, and are not carried by the other documents.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Tokyo Shimbun publishes a headline report that former US press secretary Leavitt is becoming a commentator for conservative Fox [ 1 ]
- Nishi-Nippon Shimbun publishes the same headline without further detail [ 2 ]
- Sankei Shimbun reports that Fox News announced the hire on Oct 5 and that Leavitt will appear from Nov 1 [ 3 ]