‘Enough Is Enough’: Karoline Leavitt’s Slip-Up Has Critics Convinced One Bad Habit Is Becoming Part of the White House Brand

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, is as often criticized for her professional role as well as her marriage to her much older husband, […] ‘Enough Is Enough’: Karoline Leavitt’s Slip-Up Has Critics Convinced One Bad Habit Is Becoming Part of the White House Brand

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Apr 18, 2026 - 12:59
‘Enough Is Enough’: Karoline Leavitt’s Slip-Up Has Critics Convinced One Bad Habit Is Becoming Part of the White House Brand

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, is as often criticized for her professional role as well as her marriage to her much older husband, Nicholas Riccio.

She married a 60-year-old real estate developer in early 2025, just months after welcoming their son, Nicholas Niko Riccio. Leavitt returned to work under President Donald Trump just days after he was born.

Now, as Leavitt prepares to welcome their second child, a daughter, some critics are joking that between juggling motherhood, the briefing room, and increasingly sharp-edged messaging, Trump and the White House is starting to rub off on her in the worst ways.

Karoline Leavitt made a huge slip-up while promoting one of Trump’s vanity projects during a White House briefing. (Photo by Li Yuanqing/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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Leavitt was nearing the end of the press briefing on Wednesday when she announced President Donald Trump’s plans to build a $100 million “Triumphal Arch” to go along with his $400 million ballroom addition to the White House.

The Arch would be added to the National Mall at one end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge by the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

“One final announcement,” Leavitt said. “President Trump and the Department of Interior will submit plans for the US Triumphal Arch, which will be an architectural masterpiece to celebrate our history right here in Washington, D.C.”

Leavitt then held up a picture of the arch, which resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, before she mispronounced the word “Arch” and said “Ark.”

“This is a rendering of the Ark,” she said. “It is quite beautiful.”

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A clip of Leavitt’s mispronouncing the word was shared on social media with the caption, “It is an ARCH, not an ARK. (And it is a horrendous waste of money.),” and others quickly dragged the press secretary for what some say is becoming part of the White House brand.

Critics wasted no time piling on. One fan shared a GIF of what appeared to be Noah’s Ark strapped to the back of a semi-trailer, captioned, “Karoline Leavitt says Trump is building a triumphal ark.”

Others zoomed in on the moment Leavitt held up the image, with one person pointing out, “She holds it upside down. How embarrassing.”

Another user on X noted that Leavitt held the picture was not held in the right position for others to see at first while showing off Trump’s hideous Arch. “She holds it upside down. How embarrassing,” one person pointed out.

Questions followed just as asked. “What ‘triumph’ does this arch commemorate exactly?” one person asked. Another wrote, “Someone tell her the word is ARCH and not ARK! I wonder why it is a replica of the more well known one in Paris?”

Some fixated on the pronunciation itself. “It is causing me unreasonable rage that Karoline Leavitt pronounces ‘arch’ as ‘ark,’” one critic noted. Others leaned into humor. One user shared a picture of McDonald’s golden arches with the caption, “Trump’s ‘Triumphal Arch.’”

Not everyone kept it playful. “Omg STOP HIM. He is insane!” one person wrote. Another added, “Another monument to Trump. Enough is enough.”

The backlash also revived older criticism of Leavitt, including a jab from “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” where the former MSNBC host once called her “belligerent, condescending, and aggressively stupid.”

Olbermann went on to mock Leavitt for failing to correctly pronounce Trump’s name back in 2025.

“Her chief achievement is she doesn’t actually speak English,” said Olbermann. “She called Hitler ‘Hilter’. She has repeatedly mispronounced Trump’s name…. Last week she insisted Trump, or as she often calls him, Chump, deserves the Noble Peace Prize.”

Leavitt’s boss is no stranger to verbal stumbles himself, which is why some critics were quick to draw a connection. Trump has long faced mockery for also butchering words, such as during a speech last November about Melania Trump’s “Fostering the Future” initiative, where he repeatedly mixed up “adapt” and “adopt” while trying to discuss foster care.

“Christians and more, think of this, more than twice as likely to foster care, they’ll adopt the general population,” said Trump before mistaking “adapt” with ‘adopt’ twice. “They adopt to it so easily. When they get out, they adopt to it just like it’s become second nature. It’s amazing.”

The moment drew ridicule online, and for some critics, Leavitt’s latest slip only fed the running joke that Trump’s habit of bulldozing through word flubs may be starting to rub off.

Leavitt is currently pregnant, and she and Riccio are expecting their second child sometime in May.

‘Enough Is Enough’: Karoline Leavitt’s Slip-Up Has Critics Convinced One Bad Habit Is Becoming Part of the White House Brand

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