Karoline Leavitt has given an insight into President Donald Trump’s unique brand of diplomacy.
The former White House press secretary has hit the podcast circuit after leaving the Trump administration to care for her young children, 2-year-old son Niko and 4-month-old Viviana.
She sat down with Fox News star Sean Hannity for an episode of his podcast, Hangout, released Tuesday. During their chat, Leavitt, 29, pulled back the curtain on Trump 2.0 and how the president handles international relations—particularly with allies in Europe.
“He has friendly relationships with them. And he has respect for their countries, and their people and their culture, but he sees their culture is deteriorating because of their horrible policies, and he is very upfront with them about that,” Leavitt said.
She said the president gives the U.K. “a lot of c--p” about their energy policies, which she says are informed by climate alarmism.
“You know, he’s very open and candid with other world leaders,” she said. “And again, I think that’s one of the greatest things about President Trump, is what you see is what you get. What he says to the media publicly is exactly what he’s saying behind the scenes privately too.”
At one point she discussed a brutal meeting in the United Kingdom between Trump and then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“I mean, with Starmer, I remember sitting in a lunch, I think we were at, um, maybe Windsor Castle. I don’t remember exactly where we were. Maybe we were at where Keir Starmer lived. But we were in the U.K. Actually, it was a year ago today. My memories popped up on my phone. We were in the U.K., and I sat in on a lunch with the president and Starmer,” she rambled.
Getting to the point, she added, “Uh, and we’re sitting around the table, and we’re all enjoying lunch, and we’re in this beautiful place. And the president just starts ripping into him for his policies. He’s like, ‘Your policies here are so stupid. You need to close your borders, you need to deport these people you have in your country.’ You know, ‘I know your country. I know your people. They hate what you’re doing, and you need to…’ And Starmer’s just sitting there like…”
Hannity asked what the mood was like in the room. “This is in his house, in his country. We’re not even at the White House. Like we’re not even on our own territory, and he’s just…”
“Do you find it entertaining?” Hannity interjected.
“Of course!” responded Leavitt, who was the youngest press secretary ever.
“I remember Stephen Miller and I looking at each other like, ‘Oh boy. Here we go.’ Fun times.”
It comes as Trump met on Tuesday with Starmer’s replacement, Andy Burnham, at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The meeting appeared warm, with Trump saying he could “do business” with Burnham. He did, however, trash the U.K.’s plan to give sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The islands host a joint U.S.-U.K. military base.
The White House has been contacted for comment.
