‘Read the Room’: Americans Are Barely Keeping Up, But Karoline Leavitt Thinks Flaunting Her Lavish Push Gift Is Great Content, and Folks Are Outraged
Karoline Leavitt tried to flex online, but the internet focused more on price tags than the sweet message she intended. Amid growing tension from rising […] ‘Read the Room’: Americans Are Barely Keeping Up, But Karoline Leavitt Thinks Flaunting Her Lavish Push Gift Is Great Content, and Folks Are Outraged
Black News 
Karoline Leavitt tried to flex online, but the internet focused more on price tags than the sweet message she intended.
Amid growing tension from rising gas prices despite President Donald Trump’s claims, she’s living her best life. Without a care in the world and at the worst possible time.
Instead of the praise she expected, the White House press secretary found herself in the hot seat.
Her newest post turned into a magnet for criticism from viewers. But judging by the internet’s reaction, critics say she’s just as out of touch as first lady Melania.
The backlash only snowballed as screenshots of the post continued circulating across social media and rubbed people the wrong way.
Leavitt gave birth to her and her 60-year-old husband, Nicholas Riccio’s, daughter, Viviana, on May 1. They welcomed their first son, Niko, months before they got married in 2025. Leavitt and Riccio’s 32-year age gap has been a spectacle.
For Mother’s Day, she was given what some call a push gift, which is a present given to a new mother by family or a partner. Leavitt took to her Instagram Story to share the gift from Niko and Vivi, according to the attached card.
The card came with an orange Louis Vuitton box wrapped with a blue ribbon.
The 28-year-old did not reveal the contents on the side of the box. Most people are aware that LV is reasonable but not cheap. But it’s not the content anyone want to see.
Still, the idea of Leavitt flaunting her wealth to struggling Americans was a disgusting display to many online.
“Really? You think that owning an LV purse is a flex??? It’s not,” said one person. One sarcastic remark read, “Oh come on she was struggling…to find the right color.”
Coming to her defense, one person claimed, “It’s fine that she got it; it’s tacky to brag about it online. Just trashy.”
Criticism of Leavitt’s LV bag bled into Trump’s administration, as one critic noted, “Yep, these people are tone deaf. They can’t read the room at all.”
Another said, “This administration is so f—g clue…..no, they know what they are doing. Proving they don’t give a f—k about this country or her people.”
Leavitt’s family of three blossomed into a party of four a week after she left her post at the White House for maternity leave.
Since then, she has shared two glimpses of her life after welcoming Vivi.
“She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister.
We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble,” wrote Leavitt in one caption. The photo showed her cradling her daughter in a pink room.
The second post Leavitt uploaded featured a carousel of images. In one photo, she held her baby while embracing her mother.
Meanwhile, another image captured a candid moment between the press secretary and her daughter.
A third photo showed Niko stepping into big brother mode as he checked on his little sister during a walk.
In the end, her push gift itself almost became secondary to the reaction surrounding it.
For critics, the real issue was how easily the post fed into the perception that some political figures live in a different reality than the people scrolling.
And once that narrative took hold online, no amount of glamorous photos or polished captions was going to stop the backlash from snowballing.
Leavitt knows the unlikely pairing is jarring to outsiders and even admitted her family was slow to accept her dating someone old enough to be her father.
Some have even speculated that Riccio’s more mature station in life has influenced Leavitt’s career and her appearance.
According to one person, the wealthy real estate developer is the “only reason why a 26 year old would get press secretary.”
Political insiders have started questioning whether Trump plans to replace Leavitt. She and Riccio attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April as a last outing before welcoming Vivi.
“There will be shots fired,” Leavitt said, sparking buzz after joking about the night. Meanwhile, Riccio urged another journalist to be careful.
The event ended in chaos as Trump and others fled a Washington, D.C. ballroom after an uninvited guest breached security.
Her de facto replacement is Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the same person who lurked behind Leavitt on her final day of handling press duties.
