You cannot be a prominent spokesperson for Donald Trump and not live in a liminal space of existential hypocrisy, and so perhaps one shouldn't be all that hard on White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who had a less-than-fantastic holiday and summer-opening; it is, after all, her job to defend this administration and all it does.
But, of course, have no doubt that despite all appearances, Leavitt is an adult and will be held accountable for her words, especially when, through her own breathtaking hypocrisy, she so deftly hands the Left the exact messaging it needs to build momentum toward November.
For those who had too good a time over the July 4 holiday to follow political news, let's review. As reported by this very site, Leavitt was left scrambling from her own self-inflicted word-wound when she stated that the modern socialist Left simply wants "free stuff" and is unwilling to work, as she addressed the rise in popularity of candidates from the far left:
Speaking with Fox News’ Jesse Watters ... , Leavitt claimed that young Americans were suffering from "laziness" and characterized them as entitled.
That didn't go down well and earned quite the backlash, and not just because of Leavitt's abject personal hypocrisy in doing what any self-respecting comely and curvy MAGA blonde would do in marrying a rich guy 30 years older than her — though that surely played a role. Leavitt also found herself attempting to divert the real underlying national, as opposed to personal, hypocrisy, and only made things infinitely worse with an X post that read in part:
This interview was about the rise of communism on the Left, and I was asked by Jesse Watters why so many young people are buying the false promise of “free stuff” being sold by communist politicians.
My answer: a combination of laziness, yes, and the liberal indoctrination that has been taking place in our education system for far too long. There are far-left educators pumping students’ heads with garbage, convincing them that hard work and sacrifice won’t pay off down the road because they want them totally reliant on the government instead.
Right.
Leavitt wouldn't know a real communist from her next DoorDash delivery.
Set aside momentarily the fact that the cry that each successive generation is lazy, dull-brained, and wanting everything given to them is as tired as it is predictable, and one can be sure that some conservative Gen Z commentator will be saying the same thing 40 years from now about Gen "B" or whatever they choose to name the next successive generations (Ideally, not "Post-Apocalypse Gen One, or "Gen-1 P.A., for those worried about the years ahead). The very fact that Leavitt couldn't even come up with something "new" or at least an iced twist is, well — lazy. But it sure is marketable as a message for Democrats headed into November.
Assuming that one isn't a curvy, comely, blonde conservative who marries a Gen X rich guy, there is a whole generation of Zoomers out there that would love nothing more than to pull themselves up from their bootstraps with hard work, provided there was any decent work anywhere. Leavitt likely has no idea how hard it is to just get a "real job" for most people her age or younger, rich sugar daddy or not, with or without classic higher education.
Speaking of which, yet again visiting tired and untrue conservative doctrine, let's just briefly note that the claim that young minds increasingly drift left according to the level of education received has nothing to do with "indoctrination." Quite the opposite. It is one of the most self-proving arguments for higher education and modern liberalism. Learning about history and society generally does not instil a defense for conservativism that does little more each generation than cry "Mine, mine, mine," attempting to keep every financial and social advantage afforded those like Leavitt who actually are born with silver spoons in their mouths — whether from natural advantages like being white, Christian, attractive Americans who trace their fortunes back many, many generations in this country, or just those, like Leavitt, born with a nose for economic predation.
More importantly, no decently read Gen-Z voter out there needs a Ph.D. in political science to understand that whatever the MAGA movement is selling, it's not putting money in their wallets or allowing for affordable housing, and thus — yes, Karoline, those astute minds are looking for a new message like those coming from a new generation of progressive politicians in the likes of Mamdani, AOC, Talarico, and others. And for all her banality on any number of other topics, Leavitt is right to be worried about this one — Gen Z knows that, unlike the Boomer generation currently still in charge, under which she serves, Gen Z does have to fight the system rather than inheriting a system fighting for them.
Leavitt knows the problem, and that is that they are the problem. Unlike the self-appointed rulers in the MAGA movement, a generation of Democrats, left as they are, at least talk to Gen Z voters, not "at them," and do work to provide solutions, not pile up barriers. Indeed, it is a tragedy that the Biden and the potential Harris administrations weren't allowed to really stamp their mark on this country because Biden knew the value of making higher education and trade schools far more affordable, while Harris knew exactly how badly this country needed a national program to address affordable housing. But lost opportunity or not, Gen Z most certainly is hearing something different from the Left, and "different" sounds a lot more appealing than the same tropes trotted out again and again by the Right.
Rightly so, and a progressive message was never more needed and literally cannot come soon enough.
Those with queasy stomachs might want to dodge out now because some reality needs to be aired, and it's terrifying. MAGA's "mine, all mine," has never been more dangerous. We see wealth inequality already skyrocketing, always defended by the "free stuff" argument (As if the GI bill, infrastructure construction, and other social programs didn't provide a hand-up for generations through the '50s to the '80s), and that skyrocketing inequality is happening only against the backdrop of regressive taxation and shredded union rights. So now factor in what's coming with AI and the number of jobs about to be eviscerated as Gen X's teens and young college grads face the future.
No, we really, really, do need to factor in just how badly AI is about to shred the boots that Gen Z never acquired to pull up. Look out the window, count how many jobs depend on someone driving people or goods to various places, because you'll be shocked by the number and shocked when those jobs are all but gone in 10 years. AI-driven UPS trucks don't need to take time off in the evenings, nor do AI-driven semi-trucks need to pull over to rest every eight hours. That's just one class of jobs and a huge one. Now go count how many jobs go to administrative staff in any modern business, from academics to finance — 90% of those jobs will be gone, too, and that's just two sectors. Even a med-school-bound kid with an eye for detail knows better than to plan on pathology or radiology as viable paths into the future, even those jobs are about to be overtaken.
Sit back and consider the impact on society of losing 33% of the available jobs to "hard-working Americans just starting out," from law to labs. AI will render more and more people "expendable," and no one knows it better than Gen Z, the generation that hates AI the most but sure appreciates its power. Of course, the younger generation is going to listen to politicians who talk about preserving some viable pathways to stability, even if it needs to be a Universal Basic Income as starter "free stuff." (And it will need to be eventually, but that's another column).
So the message to Leavitt and her messaging regarding the lazy, really ought to be "Keep it up, keep talking bad about the new generation of voters tired of looking at rent and housing already out of reach for anyone aged 30 or younger who doesn't marry someone 30 years older with significant wealth." Because that's the exact message needed to usher MAGA men and maidens out of office. Not for nothing, but all of this reality stuff also underlies Trump's maniacal power grab for the vote, to keep this generation and these kids out of the voting booth and off his and his buddies' backs.
That's right, Karoline. Keep talking about laziness, free stuff, and that damned power of education, and you'll run yourselves right out of office. These kids can't only not afford to have babies in their 20s, but they can't afford to not notice the message, and if there was ever a generation that could message better than you, oh boy.
No wonder she's backtracking so fast, and not just because one doesn't have to be under 25 to feel left out of this economy, either.
To the extent there is hope for a post-Trump, post-economic apocalypse, that hope resides in the message coming from candidates on the far left, the exact opposite of that from the Trump administration. It is fitting that, unlike Trump, Karoline will live long enough to see the devastation he and she have wrought.
Indeed, Leavitt's own hope may depend on that bottomless and breathless hypocrisy. She seems perfectly capable of backtracking enough to serve a strongly Democratic administration 25 years from now, at the ripe "old age" of 55, but seasoned with requisite experience. Whether she's ever provided a second chance may depend on whether she's open to a first chance to today's youngest voters.
Karoline seems adept at finding what's in her best interests. Whether she ever learns the benefit in allowing others to share in those interests is another question.
Jason Miciak is a Rawstory columnist, past editor for Occupy Democrats, political consultant, author, attorney, and single parent girldad (Yes, Gen Z). Please follow on Bluesky, and he can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com, and follows and appreciates comments.