特朗普是现代史上最爱公开发声的总统，依靠海量网络发帖、媒体采访、与记者激烈对峙持续输出自身主张。
对这位总把自己当作头号发言人的总统而言，白宫新闻秘书离职看似只是小事。但周三官宣卡罗琳・莱维特即将离任，对特朗普来说，无论从私人层面还是政治层面，都是重大损失。她留下的岗位空缺，也足以证明她是总统核心智囊团里不可或缺的关键人物。
莱维特的价值远不止一名普通发言人。她深谙特朗普的行事逻辑与内心诉求，是特朗普第二任期内带头冲击华盛顿监督体系（这里特指首都主流媒体圈）的核心干将。和总统本人一样，她彻底颠覆了白宫新闻秘书这一岗位的传统定位。她频繁犀利回怼记者，也撕开了社交媒体时代传统新闻行业内部的分歧与裂痕。
莱维特周三在社交平台发文称，5 月 1 日小女儿出生后，她意识到这份工作需要不间断投入大量时间、精力，自己无法兼顾母亲的责任，给孩子完整陪伴。特朗普曾盛赞这位 28 岁的幕僚是他 “最信任的助手”，为冲淡这次离职带来的冲击，他宣布莱维特卸任后将继续担任总统外部顾问。 一份常人难以胜任的艰巨工作
给特朗普担任新闻秘书，从来都不是轻松差事。在本届政府，所谓 “统一对外口径” 根本就是空谈。就连特朗普自己都无法预判下一刻会说出什么话，他的政策说变就变，时常前后矛盾，甚至公开推翻内阁高官的表态。
特朗普更是玩弄媒体的老手。数十年来，他时而诋毁、时而拉拢记者，将媒体当作博弈工具。早年打造地产大亨、名人 IP 时，他十分享受上世纪 80 年代纽约小报塑造的 “争议大佬” 人设。他精准拿捏媒体追逐新鲜爆点的天性，并以此转移公众视线。
特朗普热衷冲突、无视社交礼仪、口无遮拦的特质，恰逢社交媒体全面爆发，二者碰撞出极强的传播效应。他绕开历任总统依赖的传统主流媒体，直接借助社交平台将极具煽动性的个人观点输送给全国民众。
从这个角度看，特朗普甚至未必需要再任命一名新的白宫新闻秘书。
但他很难找到第二个同时具备莱维特全套能力的人。镜头前，除了特朗普本人，没人能比她更娴熟地传递 “让美国再次伟大” 的核心主张。她的新闻发布会，重点并非解读政策、向外国领导人传递隐晦信号，而是直白展现特朗普式的强硬对抗姿态。
特朗普的支持者极度拥护莱维特。她对知名记者的猛烈抨击，复刻了特朗普首次参选时支持者们的反叛呐喊。面对记者提问，她极少正面作答，反而习惯质疑提问者的立场与动机，把记者变成这场 “特朗普大戏” 里的配角。
今年 4 月白宫记者协会年度晚宴遭遇持枪者冲击、被迫延期重办，晚宴当晚莱维特全程坐在特朗普身侧。那场活动上，特朗普用极具人身攻击性的恶毒言辞抨击一众媒体从业者，这场晚宴也成了莱维特任职生涯的标志性收尾。
恰逢白宫深陷舆论争议之际，莱维特宣布辞职：上月总统因安全险情从土耳其秘密返程，外界质疑白宫拿随行记者当作掩护诱饵，相关争议尚未平息。 新闻自由迎来严峻考验
莱维特任职期间，彻底打破了 “媒体监督总统” 这一传统共识。
此前，白宫随行记者团制度长期由独立记者协会自主管理，而莱维特掌权后，彻底接管了这套体系的控制权，由她决定哪些记者能参与总统活动、搭乘空军一号随行。她还把流媒体平台、保守派地方电台主播、播客博主、“让美国再次伟大” 网红纳入常驻白宫记者队伍。
批评者认为，此举是刻意引入亲政府宣传者，弱化媒体监督力度；特朗普支持者则拍手叫好，称终于稀释了他们眼中偏向自由派精英的主流媒体话语权。
有一件标志性事件，充分体现本届政府对传统媒体的轻视：遵照特朗普指令，莱维特禁止美联社参与部分白宫官方活动，该社记者甚至被禁止登上空军一号。起因是特朗普签署行政令，将 “墨西哥湾” 更名为 “美洲湾”，而美联社拒绝修改自身新闻写作规范，配合这一更名要求。
对比特朗普第一任期团队提出的 “另类事实”，莱维特主持的新闻发布会论调更加极端。她开场总会发表长篇煽动性独白，大肆夸大吹捧特朗普的政绩，风格酷似保守派电视台黄金档节目。外界普遍预判，等孩子长大之后，她完全可以在保守媒体圈获得高薪工作。
每一届政府与媒体之间都会产生矛盾。小布什政府和记者关系常年紧张；奥巴马幕僚与媒体的激烈争吵，也打破了保守派 “媒体全盘偏袒民主党” 的固有印象；拜登的白宫新闻团队同样经常和记者产生摩擦。但特朗普政府对媒体宪法监督职能的冲击，是美国历史上前所未有的。
民主党众议员詹姆斯・沃金肖周三做客 CNN 节目《竞技场》表示，他不质疑莱维特以家庭为由辞职的诚意，但他补充道：“这份工作压力极大，想要当好特朗普的发言人，你每天都要刻意歪曲、无视客观事实。” 这位弗吉尼亚州议员还评价：“她留下的政治遗产，是进一步恶化白宫与新闻媒体之间的对立关系。”
镜头前，莱维特的发布会充满针锋相对的对峙；但私下里，她和媒体从业者相处相对融洽，记者随时能联系到她。凭借特朗普百分百的信任，重大决策时刻她都能陪伴总统左右。这份特殊权限对记者至关重要，也让白宫首席发言人拥有公信力。如今莱维特即将离开，记者们担忧：想要报道这位行事反复、权力几乎不受约束的总统的决策过程，未来会变得更加艰难。
除非特朗普从核心圈内挑选继任者，否则新人很难拥有莱维特那种天然的立场认同感，无法成为政府权威发声渠道。往届白宫都会重点培养一名或多名副新闻秘书，作为首席发言人的储备人选，这份高压岗位通常几年就会耗尽任职者精力。如今莱维特没有留下清晰的接班人规划，外界纷纷猜测，特朗普或许会干脆自己包揽全部对外发言工作。
特朗普的底层支持者会永远将莱维特视作英雄。她留下的媒体管控手段，甚至会持续影响特朗普第二任期结束后的白宫运作 —— 历届白宫团队都会沿用前任摸索出的宣传策略。未来无论民主党还是共和党总统上台，恐怕都不愿主动把媒体报道权限交还新闻界。
进入第二任期，特朗普的种种举措，仿佛都意在彻底颠覆美国政坛长久以来的运行规则。
Why Karoline Leavitt might be impossible for Trump to replace
The most clamorous president in modern history always gets his message out — in a daily riot of online posts， interviews and rancor with reporters．
The departure of a press secretary therefore might seem like a trifle to the messenger in chief． Butthe exit of Karoline Leavitt， announced Wednesday， represents a significant personal and political loss． The vacuum she’ll leave will emphasize her role as a vital member of the president’s brain trust．
But she is far more than a spokesperson． Leavitt understands the Trump id． She’s been a leader in his second－term assault on Washington institutions of accountability — in this case， the Beltway press． Just like the boss， she broke the mold of her position． And with relentless trolling of reporters， she’s exposed the fractures of traditional journalism in the social media age．
Leavitt said on social media on Wednesday that since the birth of her second child， a daughter， on May 1， she’d realized she couldn’t be the mom her kids deserve while devoting the “constant time， energy， and attention，” her job requires． Trump， perhaps softening the blow to himself of the departure of a 28－year－old he praised as one of his “most trusted aides” announced that Leavitt will continue to serve as an outside adviser．
A Herculean assignment
Being Trump’s press secretary is no easy ride． The term “message discipline” is an oxymoron in this administration． No one， including himself， knows what the president will say from one minute to the next． He changes policy on a dime， contradicting his top officials and himself．
And Trump is a master media manipulator． He’s demonized， flattered and played reporters for decades． He relished the role of 1980s New York tabloid villain as he built his brand as a real estate tycoon and celebrity． He intuits the media’s craving for constantly evolving headlines and uses it as a tool of distraction．
Trump’s zeal for conflict， disdain for etiquette and willingness to say outrageous things forged alchemy when his political ascent coincided with the explosion of social media． He used the new technology to inject his volcanic personality into the nation’s political bloodstream， bypassing the traditional media used as a conduit by his predecessors．
So maybe he doesn’t even need another press secretary．
He’ll struggle to replace Leavitt’s combination of skills． She speaks MAGA more fluently on camera than anyone but the president． Her briefings are less attempts to explain policy or to deliver coded messages to foreign leaders than demonstrations of Trumpian defiance．
The president’s supporters dearly love Leavitt． Her blasts at famous reporters recall the rebel yells of Trump’s first campaign． She rarely answers a question straight — preferring to attack the motives or mindsets of reporters thrust into the role of extras in the Trump show．
Last month， Leavitt sat by the president’s side at theWhite House Correspondents’ Association Dinnerthat was rescheduled after a gunman tried to rush into the annual event in April． That evening， which Trump spentinsulting journalistsin vicious and personal terms， will now serve as a valedictory metaphor for her tenure．
It’s also somehow fitting that Leavitt announced her resignation in the middle of a storm over whether the White House used reporterson Air Force Oneas a decoy duringthe president’s secret flightfrom Turkey during a security scare last month．
Grave questions about press freedoms
Leavitt’s tenure will be remembered as devastating to the quaint notion that the press has a vital role in holding presidents to account．
Her operation took over control of the pool system long administered by the independent correspondents’ association． She decided who got into presidential events and flew on Air Force One． She added streaming services， local conservative radio hosts， and podcasters and MAGA personalities to the permanent press corps．
Critics saw an attempt to introduce propagandists who’d go soft on Trump． His supporters cheered what they saw as an overdue dilution of what they regard as the liberal elite media．
In one enormous controversy epitomizing the administration’s contempt for regular media， Leavitt — under Trump’s direction —banned the Associated Pressfrom certain White House press events， and an agency reporter was excluded from Air Force One． AP， which has thousands of clients in the US and worldwide， had declined to change its style guide to mirror Trump’s executive orderrenaming the Gulf of Mexicoto the “Gulf of America．”
Leavitt’s briefings soon made the “alternative facts” pioneered by Trump’s first－term media team appear tame by comparison． She opened briefings with highly torqued monologues hyperbolically lauding Trump’s achievements． The performances were reminiscent of prime time shows on conservative TV — a world in which she’d surely find a lucrative future once her kids grow up．
Tensions develop between every administration and the media． Relations between President George W． Bush’s team and reporters were often brittle． Acrimony between reporters and President Barack Obama’s aides belied conservative notions that journalists were in the tank． And President Joe Biden’s press shop was especially prickly． But Trump has threatened the constitutional role of the press in the republic as never before．
Democratic Rep． James Walkinshaw said on CNN’s “The Arena” on Wednesday that he didn’t doubt Leavitt’s sincerity in citing family reasons for her departure． But he added： “It’s a tough job． It’s a job where， to be Donald Trump’s spokesman， you have to willfully deny reality on a daily basis．” The Virginia lawmaker added： “I think her legacy will be one of further degrading the relationship between the White House and the press．”
While Leavitt’s briefings are made－for－TV showdowns， she’s often more collegial with media members away from the cameras． She’s usually available to reporters， and her bond of trust with Trump means she’s in the room with the commander in chief at pivotal moments． This privilege is important to journalists and builds credibility for top spokespeople． And there are fears that with Leavitt gone， they will find it even more difficult to report on the decision－making ofan erratic and nearly unchecked president．
Unless the president picks a replacement who is already deep in his inner circle， Leavitt’s successor may lack the authenticity that made her an authoritative voice for the administration． Most White Houses groom one or more deputy press secretaries for the top job， which typically grinds down incumbents within a few years． The lack of a visible succession plan for Leavitt will fuel speculation that Trump may just take on the entire task himself．
Leavitt will always be a heroine to Trump’s base． And her influence may outlast the second Trump administration， since West Wing teams often build on the techniques of those who came before． A future president， Democratic or Republican， might balk at voluntarily handing back power to the press．
In his second term， Trump often looks like he’s wielding power to ensure nothing can ever be the same again．
