Overview
- During a Jan. 11 gaggle aboard Air Force One returning from Mar-a-Lago, President Trump joked during turbulence, saying he was looking for something to grab and that it was not going to be Karoline Leavitt.
- The remark came as reporters asked about Venezuela and a potential meeting with opposition leader María Corina Machado, prompting a momentary deflection to the bumpy conditions.
- Video of the exchange circulated widely on X, including posts by the account Acyn, drawing both laughter from some users and criticism from others who called the joke inappropriate.
- Reporters on the flight did not press the comment and continued with policy questions, and no official corrective response had been reported as of Monday.
- The episode adds to Trump’s earlier public remarks about Leavitt’s appearance and performance, including a past reference to her lips moving like a “machine gun”; Leavitt is the youngest White House press secretary.