Karoline Leavitt’s Beachy Bikini Pic Is Worlds Away From Her Frumpy White House Fashion

President Donald Trump’s press secretary had a lot of hurdles to overcome from the moment she first stepped behind the podium. Karoline Leavitt’s many controversial moments have tarnished her reputation, notably her flip-flopping on her stance about the 2020 election results. Leavitt’s standing as the youngest-ever person to hold the prestigious post didn’t help; she’s never known a world without cell phones or Harry Potter books, and Donald Trump was already ending his second marriage when she was born. Perhaps trying to appear less inexperienced and more serious, Leavitt routinely dons clothes that make her look much older than her years. Her sweater sets, bulky dresses, and long skirts are a valiant effort at gravitas, but more often than not, they make her look like a 3rd-grader playing dress-up from Grandma’s closet.

Yet every so often, Leavitt offers a glimpse of both her youth and her life outside Washington. One such instance was back in July 2023, when she was in the midst of running for a New Hampshire Congressional seat as the Republican candidate. Taking a break from the campaign trail, Leavitt spent a day at the beach in Massachusetts with her brother Mike and his family. A photo she posted to Instagram shows her hoisting her nephew Jackson high in the air with the ocean in the background. Far from covered up, Leavitt sported a black bikini which nicely showed off her figure and tan. (Judging from the very visible tan lines, she had recently spent another day sunning in a slightly larger two-piece suit.) It was a reminder that there was a fun-loving twentysomething underneath the pantsuits.

History — and a two–piece — repeated itself for Karoline Leavitt a year later

@karolineleavitt/Instagram
Karoline Leavitt’s outfits often miss the mark, but her beachwear was a rousing hit with fans when she posted this shot on Instagram. Though a few critics suspected she might have Photoshopped her body a bit for vanity’s sake, most gave the look a fire-emoji sign of approval. Leavitt recreated the moment just a little over a year later, but life had changed drastically for her during that time. By August 2024, the young politician had been so actively involved in Donald Trump’s campaign that the controversial candidate named her his press secretary. On a personal level, she had also gotten engaged to real estate developer Nicholas Riccio, and the two welcomed their first child that July. It’s little Niko, then just one month old, that Leavitt is holding in this second bikini pic. The couple married in early 2025, ignoring the snarking about the huge age gap between Leavitt and her new husband.

Since that time, Leavitt has stuck to her safe (if sometimes dowdy) wardrobe both on and off the job. She gets brownie points from us for not Kimberly Guilfoyle-izing her look with nosediving necklines and skirts too short to sit in. A few leg-baring looks are about all Leavitt has dared to show during White House press conferences, and even these don’t push the envelope of modesty. Nor does she feel the need to constantly show off her political leanings with “MAGA” caps and crystal-encrusted clutches spelling out “FJB,” as Alina Habba is wont to do. Even so, we wish Leavitt would embrace her Gen Z side a little more often. She doesn’t even have to wear a bikini to do it; just losing the cardigans would be a good first step.