WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says she believes many people in her generation are moving toward the far left because of what she described as a combination of “laziness” and “liberal indoctrination” on college campuses.
Leavitt, 28, made the comments Sunday while pushing back at what she called “bad faith” critics who circulated remarks from her recent Fox News interview with Jesse Watters. In that appearance, she discussed the far left’s growing appeal and suggested that some young Americans are unwilling to put in the work before expanding on her argument.
Posting on X, Leavitt said the far left’s rise stems from “a combination of laziness” and what she called years of liberal messaging embedded in the education system.
She also accused left-wing educators of filling students’ minds with “garbage,” arguing that they persuade young people hard work and sacrifice will not ultimately be rewarded because, in her view, they want them dependent on government programs.
President Trump and Leavitt have both labeled several self-described democratic socialists who recently won Democratic primaries as “communists.” Those victorious left-wing candidates have generally rejected that characterization, saying they identify as socialists rather than communists.
The radical primary-race winners have unnerved the Democratic establishment and Republicans alike.
Meanwhile, Leavitt also suggested that school choice could be part of the remedy for the rise of the radical left and underscored that she was not trying to paint all young people as lazy.
“It’s also true that many Gen Z Americans are hardworking, entrepreneurial, and deeply patriotic, and it’s vital we protect the American Dream for them,” she wrote.
“As the President has correctly warned, ‘communism is the enemy of free people everywhere. It is the enemy of the Constitution. Above all, it is the enemy of July 4, 1776.’ ”
During her interview with Watters, Leavitt warned that a full-blown “communist revolution” was unfolding in Congress and called communism “the biggest threat” to America in 250 years.
Many of the lefty winners in Democratic primaries so far have been in deep blue areas such as House districts in New York City.
Trump warned about the rise of communism during his addresses at Mount Rushmore and the National Mall for Independence Day.
“Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We’re not going to let it happen,” he vowed Saturday.
Vice President JD Vance has similarly warned that left-wing populism “actually is very popular” and that “Republicans should be more worried about that.”
