At this point, Trump and controversy are two sides of the same coin. The 79-year-old is once again drawing backlash for his comments about White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. His repeated focus on her appearance has raised eyebrows and reignited speculation about how Melania Trump feels about her husband’s public behavior toward younger women.
While being direct and outspoken can be seen as part of one’s personality, making objectifying remarks about a younger woman in the administration is generally not well received by the media.
As per The Atlanta Black Star, even though Trump has made many remarks about the Press Secretary many times, the controversy escalated during Trump’s return flight from Egypt aboard Air Force One early Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, the 79-year-old president made a series of offbeat comments about Leavitt.
Trump on Karoline Leavitt: She’s become a star. It’s that face. It’s that brain. It’s those lips. The way they move. pic.twitter.com/w1IpjKKcD7
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 2, 2025
“How’s Karoline doing? Is she doing good? Should Karoline be replaced?” he asked. When a journalist responded that the decision was his to make, Trump shot back, “It’ll never happen.” Then, referring to her in highly personal terms, he added, “That face… and those lips, they move like a machine gun, right?”
Karoline Leavitt tried to deflect with humor, replying, “Nobody wants to stick up for me?” Immediately, the moment went viral on social media. Trump received backlash on The Daily Beast’s X, Threads, and Facebook. “Why does Trump always use the creepiest words when he’s talking about women?” one user wrote.
Another added, “Her man’s in his sixties. She likes them old AF,” referencing Leavitt’s 60-year-old husband. For context, Karoline Leavitt is married to 60-year-old Nicolas Ricco.
The couple shares a 32-year age gap. Despite initial criticism, Karoline Leavitt said on The Megyn Kelly Show, “He is my greatest supporter, he’s my best friend, and he’s my rock. He’s built a very successful business himself, so now he’s fully supportive of me building my success in my career.”
Meanwhile, considering Trump’s continuous remarks about Karoline Leavitt’s physical features. Others likened the situation to past White House scandals. “I’m sure Monica Lewinsky felt the same way,” one person commented. At the same time, another noted, “As long as the check clears, [Melania] doesn’t care what he does, as long as he leaves her alone.”
Trump on Karoline Leavitt: “They said, ‘sir, sir, she’s just too young.’ And I said, I don’t know about that. She did awfully good because she did it during the campaign, and she was awfully good. She’s been amazing. She just did another one just a little while ago … how old… pic.twitter.com/0wi5XqzUjY
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 26, 2025
Trump’s habit of talking openly about women in a raunchy way isn’t new. During a 2002 interview with Howard Stern, Trump famously said 30 was “a perfect age” for a woman and that 35 was “checkout time.”
He also confirmed he had no issue dating women in their 20s. In a 2008 interview, he said attractive women could be “very effective” in the workplace by using their looks, adding that “oftentimes a woman that’s beautiful doesn’t have to be as smart.”
Recently, at a White House ceremony honoring right-wing conservative Charlie Kirk, who died last month, Donald Trump made comments about his wife, Erika Kirk.
He praised him and gave Erika the chance to speak. But before inviting her up, at the ceremony, Donald Trump claimed Charlie Kirk had once told him, “You won’t believe how beautiful [Erika] is … and she’s like the smartest person I know.” Trump added, “See, beauty and brains, they don’t often go together. But in this case, they do.”
One user slammed Trump after his comments and wrote, “Honestly, I’m still shocked how creepy Trump is towards women,” X (formerly Twitter).
