Departing WH Press Sec Karoline Leavitt Invited to Be a Guest on ‘The View’: Report

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Next stop for Karoline Leavitt after leaving the White House? Pulling up a chair next to the ladies who co-host ABC’s The View.

On Thursday, the Daily Mail reported Leavitt was “in secret talks to join” The View, but CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter swiftly shot down the “implication” of the Mail’s headline as “false.”

Leavitt was not going to officially join the show as a co-host, wrote Stelter, but simply had been invited to make a one-time appearance as a guest.

Stelter called having Leavitt on The View a “no-braining booking move,” as the show “frequently tries to book political newsmakers.” It was an “expected” decision to invite Leavitt due to her high-profile gig with the White House, Stelter added, but this specific administration’s “rocky relationship” with the show’s network added some extra drama.

President Donald Trump announced earlier this month Leavitt would be leaving her gig as White House Press Secretary. In a social media post, Leavitt expressed how she was “incredibly grateful” to the president for the opportunity, calling it “the honor and adventure of a lifetime.” Reactions mostly lined up with partisan affiliations, with Fox News and Republicans praising Leavitt’s tenure and Trump’s critics bashing her “lies and gaslighting.”

Leavitt, who recently gave birth to her second child, will remain in an advisory role to the administration and return to work for the Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc. Her replacement has not yet been announced publicly, but CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings is among those rumored to be in the running.

Trump has frequently publicly attacked ABC and various programs and on-air personalities over the years, including The View, and his FCC have been battling both ABC and parent company Disney, which recently filed a lawsuit challenging on First Amendment grounds the FCC’s threats to its local station license renewals and other “escalating pressures” on its programming.

The FCC also launched an investigation into The View, accusing the show of violating the “equal-time” regulations by interviewing political candidates.

Leavitt was previously the GOP nominee for a New Hampshire congressional seat, but as Stelter noted, she is not currently running for office, “so the cloud of the FCC probe does not apply.” Still, Leavitt’s role as the spokesperson for a president who has directly attacked the show and the network made Stelter deem this an “intriguing” invite.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!