Karoline Leavitt says being a working mom was 'the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life'

For Karoline Leavitt, the hardest part of serving as President Donald Trump’s press secretary wasn’t facing reporters — it was leaving her young children at home.Leavitt was the youngest-ever White House press secretary before announcing her departure in August. In a podcast episode of “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” released Tuesday, she spoke about her decision to step back from her role in the Trump administration to focus on her family.”Being a working mom was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life,” she said.

Leavitt, 28, shares two children with her husband, 60-year-old real-estate developer Nicholas Riccio.

She told Hannity that her struggle to balance work and motherhood began shortly after her first child was born in July 2024. Leavitt watched on live TV as Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, the same day she brought her son, Niko, home from the hospital. She returned to work as the Trump campaign’s national press secretary just days after giving birth.

“As a three-day postpartum woman, that was very traumatic, and I had a choice to make,” Leavitt said. “I had producers calling, ‘Can you come on TV and talk about this?’ And I felt as though I owed it to the president to do that.”

Her appointment as White House press secretary didn’t make her work-life balance any easier, Leavitt said.

‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore’

Karoline Leavitt in the White House press briefing room. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Leavitt told Hannity that the long hours her job required took a toll on her 2-year-old son.

“I would leave for the White House very early in the morning, and he would cling to my leg as I would walk out the door, and we would have to hide him sometimes so that I wouldn’t have to break his heart again,” she said. “And sometimes I would drive to the White House in silence, like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore.'”

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After giving birth to her daughter, Viviana, in May, Leavitt said she realized it was time to make a change.

“The president deserves someone in that job who can give it their all 24/7,” she said. “And after having two kids, I just realized I couldn’t.”

Trump “couldn’t have been kinder” about her decision to leave the White House, Leavitt said.

“It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make because I loved my job and I love the president and our team and I believe so much in what he’s doing,” Leavitt said. “But, as he jokes, I do love my kids more, and you know, I realize they need me home right now, especially during these young years.”