Former Fox News Anchor Takes a Dig at Karoline Leavitt, Calls Her a ‘Partisan Hack’

RT host and former Fox News anchor Rick Sanchez criticized White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a video posted to X. Sanchez posted a video on X criticizing Leavitt and saying, “She is no press secretary.”

He criticized the current state of the role and argued that both Democrats and Republicans transformed the White House press secretary position from a press-facing role into a partisan public relations job decades ago. Sanchez also said the role has drifted far from its historical purpose as a bridge between the government and the public.

In his analysis, the former host argued that instead of serving as a journalist tasked with explaining policies to reporters, the role has become more focused on public relations.

Continuing his criticism of Leavitt, Sanchez said, “Karoline Leavitt, there she is, smiling big, right? Because she happens to be President Trump’s, quote, press secretary. That's her actual title, press secretary. But she is not a press secretary, far from it."

Stressing that the job has become a high-stakes public relations role, he added, “Let me give you some background on why I am saying this. So a press secretary is traditionally a journalist, selected from among journalists, so that they can explain to other journalists what the president's policies are... they were always chosen as journalists. Good ones usually, the best ones. That's why they were usually respected and trusted by the public.”

Calling Leavitt “part of a string of recent appointments,” he continued, “But Karoline Leavitt? She's a part of a string of recent appointments in the United States by presidents of both Democrats and Republicans who abandoned this idea altogether. So what we have today in this job, they are not press secretaries. They are usually what are referred to as public relations hacks.”

Discussing his broader criticism of modern press secretaries, Sanchez said, “They are partisans. They are corporate mouthpieces. They are there to spew talking points. Unfortunately, that's the way it has been now for the last 40 years.”

In January, Karoline Leavitt, according to The Guardian, Leavitt criticized a reporter over a question regarding the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent and labeled him a “left-wing hack.” The reporter asked her, “Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year, 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE, and Renee Good was shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent. How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?”

In response to the question, the press secretary said, “Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed? You’re a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion. You’re a left-wing hack! You’re not a reporter! You’re posing in this room as a journalist, and it’s so clear from the premise of your question.”