这位现代史上最爱发声的总统，总有办法传递自己的声音：日复一日的网络发帖、接受采访，以及和记者激烈争执。
因此，对这位总爱亲自发声的总统而言，新闻秘书离职看似算不上什么大事。但周三官宣的卡罗琳・莱维特卸任，却是一次重大的个人与政治损失。她留下的岗位空缺，恰恰凸显出她是总统核心智囊团当中举足轻重的一员。
她绝不仅仅只是一名发言人。莱维特十分懂特朗普内心的行事逻辑。特朗普第二任期向华盛顿各类监督机构发起冲击，矛头直指华盛顿媒体圈，莱维特便是其中核心人物。和她的老板一样，她彻底打破了新闻秘书这一岗位的固有范式。她不断强硬回击记者，也暴露出传统新闻行业在社交媒体时代的内在裂痕。
莱维特周三在社交媒体表示，5 月 1 日自己的二女儿出生之后，她意识到这份工作需要持续投入大量时间、精力与注意力，自己无法同时做好这份工作，又做一个称职的母亲。特朗普称 28 岁的莱维特是自己 “最信任的助手” 之一，为减轻这次离职带来的冲击，特朗普宣布莱维特卸任后将继续担任外部顾问。 一份无比艰巨的工作
担任特朗普的新闻秘书绝非易事。在本届政府，所谓 “统一对外口径” 本身就是个矛盾的说法。就连特朗普本人，都没人知道他下一分钟会说出什么。他政策说变就变，时常与高级官员乃至自己先前的表态自相矛盾。
而特朗普本身就是玩弄媒体的高手。几十年来，他时而妖魔化、时而讨好记者，利用媒体达成自己目的。早年做地产大亨、成为名人时，他很享受上世纪 80 年代纽约小报上的反派人设。他深谙媒体需要源源不断的新头条，并且把这一点当作转移公众视线的工具。
特朗普热衷于冲突、无视社交礼仪，敢于说出惊世骇俗的言论。恰逢社交媒体蓬勃兴起，这些特质发生奇妙化学反应。他借助新媒体，将自己极具煽动性的个人风格注入美国政治，绕开了历任总统所依赖的传统媒体渠道。
某种意义上，他甚至不一定需要再找一位新闻秘书。
但想要复刻莱维特一身的综合能力，却很难。镜头面前，除了总统本人，没有人比她更能熟练传递 “让美国再次伟大” 的那套话语。她主持新闻简报，并不重在解读政策，或是向外国释放隐晦信号，更多是展现特朗普式的对抗姿态。
特朗普的支持者十分拥护莱维特。她痛斥知名记者的发言，仿佛重现特朗普第一次竞选时那种反抗式的呐喊。她极少正面回答问题，反而习惯质疑记者的动机与立场，记者仿佛沦为特朗普大戏里的配角。
4 月曾发生持枪者试图闯入白宫记者晚宴，活动被迫改期。上个月的晚宴现场，莱维特坐在特朗普身旁。当晚特朗普用刻薄、人身攻击的言语羞辱记者，这一幕，也成为她任期极具象征意义的收尾。
而莱维特宣布辞职的时机也耐人寻味。就在此前，白宫曝出争议：上个月特朗普在土耳其遭遇安全威胁秘密撤离，空军一号上的记者被当作诱饵。 新闻自由面临严峻拷问
回望莱维特的任期，人们会记住：传统观念中媒体监督总统的重要职能，遭到严重打击。
记者团轮换采访机制历来由独立记者协会管理，而莱维特团队接管了这套体系。由她决定谁可以参加总统活动、谁可以登上空军一号。流媒体平台、保守派地方电台主持人、播客博主以及 “让美国再次伟大” 阵营的网红，被大量纳入常驻记者队伍。
批评者认为，这是在安插对特朗普手下留情的宣传人员；而支持者为之叫好，认为长期被自由派精英把持的媒体圈，本就该被稀释。
有一件重大争议事件，集中体现本届政府对主流媒体的蔑视：在特朗普授意下，莱维特禁止美联社参与部分白宫新闻活动，该社记者也被禁止登上空军一号。原因是美联社拒绝按照特朗普行政令修改写作规范，不肯把 “墨西哥湾” 改称 “美洲湾”。
对比莱维特主持的简报，特朗普第一任期团队开创的 “另类事实” 都显得温和许多。简报开场，她总会发表长篇激昂独白，极尽夸张地吹捧特朗普政绩。整套表演风格，酷似保守派电视台黄金档节目。等孩子长大之后，她在这类平台不难获得待遇优厚的工作。
每一届政府与媒体之间都会产生摩擦。小布什政府与记者的关系时常紧张；奥巴马时期幕僚和记者互相攻讦，打破保守派所谓记者偏袒民主党的印象；拜登的白宫新闻团队也经常态度强硬。但特朗普对媒体在宪政体系内的角色的冲击，前所未有。
民主党众议员詹姆斯・沃金肖周三在 CNN 节目中表示，他不怀疑莱维特以家庭为由离职的诚意。但他说：“这份工作很难。做特朗普的发言人，意味着你每天都要刻意无视现实。” 这位弗吉尼亚州议员补充道：“我认为她留下的印记，是进一步破坏白宫与新闻界的关系。”
莱维特主持的简报会经常上演电视直播对峙，但镜头之外，她对待媒体从业者往往相对和气。记者通常可以联系到她；凭借和特朗普的信任关系，重大决策时刻她能够待在总统身边。这种接触渠道对记者至关重要，也让高层发言人拥有公信力。如今莱维特离去，外界担忧：想要报道这位行事反复、几乎不受约束的总统如何做决策，会变得更加困难。
除非总统从自己核心亲信中挑选继任者，否则新任新闻秘书很难拥有莱维特那种天然的可信度。多数白宫都会培养一到多名副新闻秘书以备接任，这份岗位通常几年之内就会耗尽任职者精力。眼下看不到明确的继任人选，也引发猜测：特朗普或许打算自己包揽发言人全部工作。
在特朗普的基本盘眼中，莱维特永远是一位英雄。她的影响力或许会延续到特朗普第二任期结束之后，白宫团队往往会继承前人的行事手段。未来无论民主党还是共和党总统，或许都不愿主动把权力交还给媒体。
第二任期的特朗普，所作所为仿佛要让一切都彻底改写。
而莱维特，曾是他忠诚且高效的搭档。
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．
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt talks to reporters on the driveway outside the West Wing on April 23， 2025． Chip Somodevilla／Getty Images 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．
He had a loyal and effective partner in Leavitt．
