'Send them to Cuba, send them to Iran': Karoline Leavitt gives blunt message to complaining Gen Z

WASHINGTON, DC: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt joked that young Americans unhappy with life in the United States should be sent to Cuba or Iran.

She said they would "want to come back real quick." Her comment came during a lively conversation with Fox News host Jesse Watters about Gen Z, work ethic, and the state of American education.

Karoline Leavitt blames 'liberal indoctrination' in schools

Watters opened the exchange by saying that some young people "have never had real jobs, and they're complaining things are expensive. Yes, things are expensive when you don't have a real job," before asking Leavitt whether she thought that kind of thinking was gaining traction.

"Unfortunately, I do because this generation, my generation… Gen Z, and those younger than me have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths," Leavitt responded. "Just getting everything handed to them. That's not the values this country was built on. We need to protect the American dream with all we got."

When Watters pressed her on whether the issue came down to laziness, Leavitt said it was partly that, but also something deeper.

"A little bit... and it's the liberal indoctrination," she said.

"So many parents I talk to across the country are homeschooling, are turning toward private education, are turning towards Christian schools because they don't want their children being taught these communist and liberal ideas slammed down their throats," Leavitt added. 

Karoline Leavitt suggests sending Gen Z who complain about America to Iran and Cuba

The moment that quickly circulated on social media came when Watters suggested that misbehaving young people should simply be made to join the army. 

Leavitt had a sharper suggestion.

"Or send them to Cuba. Send them to Iran. They'll want to come back real quick," she said.

The quip quickly caught fire online, with people lauding the line as a sharp defense of American values and the broader point that life in the US, for all its struggles, is better than life under authoritarian regimes.

Leavitt, 28, is the youngest White House press secretary in US history and has herself become a prominent Gen Z voice in the Trump administration.

Her willingness to speak candidly about her own generation has made her a frequent guest on conservative media programs, where discussions about generational values, education, and the American dream have become recurring themes.

The exchange comes as debates over Gen Z's relationship with work, patriotism, and traditional values have intensified in recent months, with figures across the political spectrum weighing in on what is driving the shift.