White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has built a reputation for making unbelievably outlandish claims about President Donald Trump’s prowess as commander-in-chief, his performance as president, and the supposed greatness of his policies.
Yet she just delivered, perhaps, one of her most astonishing statements to date about her boss and how “well-read” he is.
For years it’s been whispered that Trump doesn’t actually read. He supposedly spends countless hours watching television news, according to various reports over time, but picking up a book seems to be another matter entirely for him.
By contrast, one of his predecessors, President Barack Obama, once released a yearly list highlighting his top reading selections.
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So, given that backdrop, Leavitt’s praise of Trump and his reading habits during a conversation on April 2 at George Washington University in Washington with Turning Point USA chairwoman and CEO Erika Kirks as part of the organization’s spring tour raised eyebrows.
Leavitt was offering guidance to students gathered at the event when she made what could only be described as a jaw-dropping claim about Trump.
She opened by saying the best piece of advice she had ever received was “to strive to be the most well-read person in every room.”
“I try to live by that every day, but Donald Trump always does. That man does not miss a story. Let me tell you. He’s constantly reading the papers and watching the news,” she proudly declared, clearly not grasping the nuance of what “well-read” actually signifies.
Yet she went even further, seemingly equating media literacy with being “well-read.”
“You’re students,” she continued. “You’re working, you’re in school. You want to have fun, you want to live your lives. You can’t consume every single piece of news, but before you get truly heated about something, or perhaps angry or even inspired, check other sources and then use your best judgment to balance what the truth is. And unfortunately, that’s just how it has to be done.”
In this framing, the advice isn’t inherently bad—indeed, it aligns with prudent habits of evaluating information from multiple outlets—but it has little bearing on what it means to be well-read.
Being well-read traditionally means a person is well-informed and knowledgeable as a result of broad reading.
Merriam-Webster defines it as “well-informed or deeply versed through reading.”
Social media, for its part, wasn’t amused by Leavitt’s mischaracterization of Trump’s relationship with reading.
Trump’s political foe, California Governor Gavin Newsom, didn’t waste a moment, firing back with his trademark humor.
“DONALD TRUMP IS THE MOST WELL-READ PERSON IN THE ROOM? WHO ELSE IS IN THAT ROOM? TWO ROCKS, A JELLY DONUT, AND LEAVITT?” Newsom quipped in a post on X.
Miles Taylor, a former national security official, recalled his own experience briefing Trump.
“I remember the first piece of guidance I received on briefing President Trump in 2017: He doesn’t read. Bring pictures. Only try to impress ONE thing on him. And if there must be words, keep it to a single page.”
Others piled on.
“He literally can’t read,” one Threads user asserted. “You HAVE TO BE KIDDING. The man can barely read. OMG. HOW SCABBY ARE HER KNEES??” wrote another, Diane Jarrett, in a jab that drew derisive laughter.
Another person added, “Wait, did she just say that? I know she rehearsed that and STILL didn’t hear how wild it sounded.”
Another agreed, “The fact that she can make that claim with a straight face shows how utterly soulless she is. The absurd lies slip out so easily.”
