Fact Check: Did Karoline Leavitt say Donald Trump's unemployment rate was at a 'historic low'?
WASHINGTON, DC: A viral social media post has claimed that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the unemployment rate under President Donald Trump was at a "historic low," prompting widespread discussion online. The alleged quote compared unemployment figures under Trump and former President Joe Biden.
The claim has circulated across multiple social media platforms, drawing more than a million views and prompting users to question whether Leavitt actually made the remark. Here's what our fact check found.
Claim: Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump's unemployment rate was at a historic low
According to the viral claim, Leavitt allegedly compared unemployment rates under Trump and Biden.
“Under President Trump, the U.S. unemployment rate is at a historic low of just 4.3%. It was at a dismal rate of 3.4% under Biden," Leavitt allegedly said, according to the posts circulating online.
Different variations of the post spread on X and Instagram, garnering more than a million views as of this writing. Most comments dismissed the quote as fake, while others accepted it as authentic, prompting a fact check.
Fact check: There is no evidence Karoline Leavitt made the viral statement
The claim is false. There is no evidence that Leavitt made the statement attributed to her in the viral posts.
A review of her press briefing archives and public media appearances found that while she has frequently criticized the Biden administration and praised the Trump administration, there is no record of her making the specific comparison of unemployment rates quoted in the viral claim.
A Google search for the alleged quote also produced no credible results. Had Leavitt made such a statement, it likely would have been reported by major news organizations.
Although the exact origin of the quote remains unclear, it appears to have been fabricated, and it is possible that it was originally created as satire.
Karoline Leavitt has praised Donald Trump's economic agenda in real remarks
While the viral quote is fabricated, Leavitt has made genuine statements praising the Trump administration's economic record and contrasting it with the Biden administration.
In February this year, she said, "We are seeing promising signs every day that 2026 is going to be a record successful year for the American people, just as President Trump promised them."
"The January jobs report shattered expectations, highlighting how the president's pro-growth economic agenda is fueling American prosperity. The economy added 172,000 new private sector jobs to kick off the year."
"That's more than two and a half times economist predictions. The labor force participation rate went up while the unemployment rate fell."
"The prime-age labor force participation rate is now at its highest since 2001. Most importantly, 100% of all job creation under President Trump continues to be in the private sector.”