Jimmy Fallon has an idea for what Karoline Leavitt can do next: use the skills she deployed as press secretary in Donald Trump’s White House to help another under-fire organization.
The late-night host opened Wednesday night’s episode of The Tonight Show by returning to Trump’s food container ploy and its fallout. On Tuesday, Fallon had entered his show using a fake container truck, mocking the president for hiding away in one at a Turkish airport to dodge a possible Iranian assassination plot.
In Wednesday’s monologue, Fallon pointed out that the 80-year-old president left behind a number of key officials in his administration after sneaking off Air Force One at Ankara airport on July 8, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Leavitt, Trump’s 28-year-old press secretary, was on maternity leave at that point, but Fallon joked that she was “definitely one of the staffers left on Air Force One”—and suggest that was why she decided to leave the White House.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, really? You didn’t take me?’ Yeah, apparently, she’s moving on to an easier job working as the press secretary for Taylor Farms lettuce,” quipped the NBC host, referring to the embattled fresh produce company caught up in a food poisoning outbreak.
In reality, Leavitt decided to depart to spend more time with her family. Trump announced Leavitt’s shock departure earlier on Wednesday, writing on Truth Social, “Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!”
Leavitt was 27 when she joined the position, making her the youngest person ever to occupy the post.
No successor has been named so far, but sources told the Daily Beast that MAGA political commentator Scott Jennings is seen as a frontrunner for the job.
The press secretary herself released a statement, saying, “Being a mother and welcoming a new baby while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life, to say the least.”
Leavitt gave birth to her second child, a daughter, in May of this year.
“Since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary,” Leavitt wrote of her departure on X. “And that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”
She vowed to “always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party.”
