White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has already surpassed one of her Biden predecessors in total number of PolitiFact fact-checks after just two months in office.
On Thursday, PolitiFact issued Leavitt her latest fact-check over her statement, “Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people.” PolitiFact rated it “False” with chief correspondent Louis Jacobson writing that “virtually all economists” have characterized tariffs as “tax hikes rather than tax cuts.”
This marked Leavitt’s third PolitiFact fact-check since beginning her tenure as press secretary in January, which officially put her ahead of former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki’s entire record of fact-checks on the site.
PolitiFact has already fact-checked Trump White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt three times compared to former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki’s two. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
In the sixteen months Psaki held the position, PolitiFact only fact-checked her twice, once in Nov. 2021 and once in Jan. 2022. Her November claim about Build Back Better was rated “False” while her January claim about COVID vaccines was rated “True.”
In contrast, Leavitt had her first two PolitiFact fact-checks on Jan. 30, less than two weeks after starting the position and nearly ten months earlier than Psaki. One was rated “False” while the other was rated only “Half-True.”
The more aggressive fact-checking right out of the gate was flagged by conservative media watchdog NewsBusters.
This also put Leavitt only one fact-check below former President Biden’s second press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, who received four fact-checks throughout her entire time behind the podium. Jean-Pierre held the position from May 2022 through January 2025.
Out of the four times PolitiFact fact-checked Jean-Pierre, two were rated “False,” while the other two were rated “Mostly True.” PolitiFact also did not begin fact-checking Jean-Pierre until June 2022, about one month after her term began.
POLITIFACT EXECUTIVE RIPS META’S ZUCKERBERG FOR ANNOUNCING THE END OF FACT-CHECKING ON HIS PLATFORMS
Comparatively, fellow press secretaries under President Donald Trump such as Sean Spicer, Kayleigh McEnany and Sarah Huckabee Sanders have also been fact-checked by PolitiFact more than press secretaries under Biden.
McEnany was fact-checked four times by PolitiFact over the period she was press secretary from 2020 to 2021.
Sanders received five PolitiFact fact-checks regarding comments she made during a White House press briefing, with one fact-check for an interview with ABC.
Leavitt is only one fact-check behind her predecessor, Karine Jean-Pierre. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Spicer received nine PolitiFact fact-checks during the six months he held the press secretary position in 2017.
In a comment to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, “PolitiFact’s so called ‘reporters’ aren’t fact checkers; they are left-wing crusaders dedicated to spinning the truth, perpetrating lies, and promoting the Democrats’ radical agenda. Karoline Leavitt has been so honest and transparent with the press that the fake fact-checkers at PolitiFact are having a hard time finding any facts to check.”
Fox News Digital reached out to PolitiFact for a comment.
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