Fact Check: Did Karoline Leavitt say she's joining Fox News to become Defense Secretary?
WASHINGTON, DC: As former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is joined Fox News, a claim began circulating online alleging that Leavitt said she joined the network as a stepping stone to becoming the Secretary of Defense. The claim has sparked concerns and criticisms from online users, prompting a fact-check.
Claim: Karoline Leavitt is preparing to become Defense Secretary
According to a viral Facebook post, Leavitt announced on Monday that she was joining Fox News Channel as a stepping stone to becoming Defense Secretary.
Leavitt allegedly said that only by becoming an on-air personality at Fox could she acquire the “warrior ethos” necessary to lead the world’s largest military.
“I’ve watched YouTube mascara tutorials and spent hours sampling blush at Sephora,” she allegedly said. “But if I’m going to launch unprovoked attacks on other countries, I need to put in the hard yards of getting my hair and makeup done at Fox.”
The post has garnered tens of thousands of views as of this writing, drawing criticism against Leavitt, suggesting that many believe the claim and the quote attributed to her are authentic.
Fact Check: The claim was intended as satire
The claim, however, is false, and the remarks attributed to the former press secretary are fake and fabricated.
There are no recent statements, interviews, or social media posts from Leavitt about preparing to become the press secretary.
If the 29-year-old really made such a statement, it would not have gone unreported by credible news outlets. A search for the claim on Google and other search engines like Bing yielded no credible reports.
Additionally, the claim originated from an online satire newspaper called ‘The Borowitz Report’ and was posted on its Facebook handle called ‘Andy Borowitz.’
Karoline Leavitt to join Fox News
Leavitt is joining Fox News as an on-air contributor, days after President Donald Trump slammed the network due to the dispute over press access to the White House.
On Manday, the outlet announced that Leavitt will start on November 1, weeks after she left the administration following the birth of her second child.
Leavitt said she would bring her experience at the White House, along with the “same energy and candor,” to Fox’s platforms.
Previously, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also worked at the network as a host and contributor, while Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, joined Fox in 2025.
