Karoline Leavitt, the former White House press secretary, returned to the political spotlight in Dallas on the second night of the inaugural Republican Midterm Convention, stepping back onto a major stage as a prominent spokeswoman in President Donald Trump’s political operation.
Addressing the crowd, Leavitt warned that Republicans could not build prosperity, saying, ‘We cannot be a wealthy people if we elect extreme liberal socialist Democrats who will raise our rent and taxes, take away our private property, and kill the American dream.’
She sharpened that message by arguing that socialism inevitably brings hardship. ‘Democrat socialist countries always end in poverty, in famine, in misery, and that’s why we will never allow that to happen here in the United States of America, the best country in the world,’ she declared.
Leavitt also dismissed Democrats’ economic agenda as unrealistic, saying their ‘false economic promises may sound nice on paper,’ but would ultimately produce ’empty opportunities and broken communities.’
Her appearance came after she departed her White House role at the end of August, not long after returning from maternity leave following the birth of her second child and first daughter, Viviana.
Since leaving the administration, Leavitt has returned to MAGA Inc., Trump’s Super PAC, where she previously served as spokeswoman before shifting to his 2024 campaign.
Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, are also parents to a two-year-old son, Niko, who was born during the 2024 campaign just days before the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
‘You guys will still see me all the time,’ Leavitt told reporters during her final week at the White House — and her convention appearance suggested she intends to remain a visible presence in Trump’s political orbit.
Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks on stage on the second day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on September 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas
Attendees applaud at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas on September 10
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to the press on her final day as Press Secretary, outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2026
She flew to Dallas with Trump and White House staff aboard Air Force One and made a slew of media appearances before taking the stage ahead of the president’s second address.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune was not handed a speaking slot and was booed during Trump’s first speech on Wednesday, a snub that follows the president’s frustration with the South Dakotan over his stalled agenda.
Other House and Senate leaders got slots. Trump did defend him from the stage, saying Thune was ‘working hard.’
Several candidates in the year’s most competitive races are also avoiding the main stage, among them Maine Senator Susan Collins, Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson and John E Sununu, the Republican nominee trying to flip New Hampshire’s Senate seat red.
People attend the Republican Convention on Thursday, September 10, 2026, in Dallas
A woman reacts at the Republican Convention in Dallas, Texas, September 10, 2026
Most prognosticators expect Democrats to win back the US House of Representatives, but the Senate will be tougher with battleground races in Maine, Ohio, Michigan and Alaska set to determine control.
Trump’s own trip to Texas was delayed Wednesday after his new Qatari-gifted Air Force One deployed its emergency evacuation slide.
Pressed on whether the aircraft, from which Leavitt also posted selfies, was safe to fly, Trump responded: ‘Yeah, I am, or I wouldn’t be on it.’
