Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, has gained a reputation for her relentless commentary aimed at former President Joe Biden. Much like her boss, President Donald Trump, she seems unable to not mention Biden’s name, regardless of the place. Be it a press meeting or a social media post, or an interview, Leavitt makes it a point to bring up Biden.
During a routine briefing in March 2025, only two months into Trump’s second term, a reporter challenged Leavitt: “When can you not blame it [the economy] on President Biden and when does it fully become President Trump’s responsibility?”
The Press Secretary, undaunted, replied, “Well, we’ve only been here 52 days.” Her reply was the beginning of a pattern that she has repeatedly used to deflect scrutiny by referencing Biden’s term. Since then, Leavitt regularly invoked Biden’s name for months, with Brut reporting that she cited the previous administration over fifty times within Trump’s first 100 days back in office.
Leavitt’s snark often migrated to her personal social media, notably her Instagram stories. In March 2025, she posted a video of Air Force One’s stairs, captioned, “These are the stairs Biden used to trip up,” alongside a grinning emoji.
The post was a reference to Biden’s 2021 stumble, which had circulated widely years prior. When she posted it, the MAGA base was essentially too happy about the dig. However, it did not take long for the tables to turn.
Only a few months later, President Trump endured his own slip while boarding Air Force One. Leavitt’s earlier joke suddenly backfired as netizens keep a record of everything, even the Instagram stories that disappear after 24 hours.
Donald Trump trips while boarding Air
Force One. pic.twitter.com/UWEBvTmfmh— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 9, 2025
Since Leavitt did not care much when joking about Biden, some of her jokes, especially the ones that had made fun of the former President’s health, appeared to be extremely crass after Biden’s cancer diagnosis in May 2025.
Moreover, Leavitt’s constant attempts at being funny often do not land, as it seems that she is trying too hard. At an April 2025 press conference, Leavitt prepared to discuss Biden’s first speech since leaving office.
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Seizing the moment, she joked, “My first reaction when seeing former President Biden speaking tonight was, I’m shocked that he is speaking at nighttime. I have thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight.” Sadly, the joke did not get the reaction she had expected and all she got was some isolated laughs and blank stares.
The joke was a direct callback to Trump’s favored nickname for Biden: “Sleepy Joe.” Interestingly enough, Trump has now gotten the nickname of ‘Dozy Don’ after he was captured appearing sleepy during multiple important meetings and gatherings. Leavitt’s jokes about Biden’s age and the sleepiness that comes with it seem even more bland and pointless now, given how Trump seems to be in a similar position in recent times.
Leavitt is blaming Biden, not Putin, for the war in Ukraine:
“The weakness and incompetence of Joe Biden foolishly allowed the killing to start in the first place.”
What do you say to karoLYIN’ Leavitt?
pic.twitter.com/V0PaLNOtsV— Lucas Sanders 💙🗳️🌊💪🌈🚺🟧 (@LucasSa56947288) August 19, 2025
Another one of her pointless insults came before the pivotal 2024 presidential debate. In a tweet posted on June 28, 2024, Leavitt mused, “What’s wrong with Joe Biden’s voice? Hasn’t he been hiding in the woods for a week?????”
The remark was a reference to Biden’s retreat to Camp David for pre-debate preparations. However, the connection between Biden’s voice and him being at Camp David was not clear at all. Her post felt like she only wanted to deliver the punchline but there was no foundation to her joke that would lead up to the line.
Despite constant misfires, Leavitt remains committed to her goal of mocking the former President at any cost. However, with Trump often doing the same activities for which Biden was previously mocked, it now remains to be seen if that dampens Leavitt’s excitement and leads her to find someone else to use her misplaced and unfunny jokes on.
