STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The new White House press secretary took part in a long-standing White House ritual yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Good afternoon, everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Good afternoon.
LEAVITT: It's an honor to be here with all of you.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Karoline Leavitt conducted her first briefing as White House press secretary. She is 27, the youngest person to hold the job.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
LEAVITT: While I vow to provide the truth from this podium, we ask that all of you in this room hold yourselves to that same standard. And we will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House.
INSKEEP: Now, Karoline Leavitt worked her way up from White House intern to assistant press secretary in President Trump's first term and was a familiar voice during the 2024 presidential campaign. Here she is on Fox News.
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LEAVITT: The Democrat Party has become the party of elitists who look down on the everyday working man and woman in this country.
MARTIN: During his previous term, President Trump had four press secretaries. Sean Spicer lost a lot of credibility at the start when he picked up his boss's line about the crowd at his inauguration.
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SEAN SPICER: This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.
MARTIN: Another press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, handled the briefings more smoothly. She went on to become governor of Arkansas.
INSKEEP: Then there was Stephanie Grisham, who didn't give formal briefings at all. She became a Trump critic after the attack on the Capitol in 2021. Karoline Leavitt's inaugural briefing had a few tense moments.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
LEAVITT: So you're asking a hypothetical based on programs that you can't even identify.
UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST: Well, I just identified it.
LEAVITT: What I can tell you...
INSKEEP: And ended with a promise from Leavitt to reporters that they will be seeing a lot more of her.
MARTIN: Karoline Leavitt, the White House's newest and youngest press secretary. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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