Karoline Leavitt Outpaces Jen Psaki’s Entire PolitiFact Record in Just Two Months

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, has swiftly surpassed one of her Biden-era predecessors in the total number of PolitiFact fact-checks issued against her—achieving this milestone in just two months. For context, Jen Psaki, who served in the same role for sixteen months, only faced two fact-checks the entire time.

Leavitt’s latest PolitiFact moment came after she boldly declared that "Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people." PolitiFact didn’t waste time slapping her statement with a "False" rating, citing their chief correspondent Louis Jacobson’s analysis that "virtually all economists" view tariffs as tax hikes rather than cuts. Honestly, who knew tariffs could stir up this much drama?

This marked Leavitt’s third PolitiFact fact-check since taking office in January, officially putting her ahead of Psaki's record. Psaki’s claims about Build Back Better (rated "False") and COVID vaccines (rated "True") were the only ones PolitiFact scrutinized during her tenure.

Leavitt, however, faced her first two fact-checks less than two weeks into her new role—a speed that conservative media watchdog NewsBusters flagged as "aggressive." One of those claims was rated "False," while the other landed as "Half-True." It seems PolitiFact came ready to play.

Interestingly, Leavitt is now just one fact-check shy of matching the record of Karine Jean-Pierre, another Biden-era press secretary, who faced four fact-checks during her two-year stint. Half of Jean-Pierre’s fact-checks were rated "False," with the other half earning a "Mostly True." For comparison, PolitiFact didn’t start assessing Jean-Pierre’s statements until a month into her tenure, giving her a little breathing room.

Leavitt’s experience stands in sharp contrast to Trump-era press secretaries, who seemed to be PolitiFact magnets. Sean Spicer was fact-checked nine times during his six-month term in 2017. Kayleigh McEnany faced four fact-checks, while Sarah Huckabee Sanders topped them both with five fact-checks during her time at the podium.

The White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers didn’t hold back when commenting on this trend. Speaking to Fox News Digital, Rogers accused PolitiFact of being "left-wing crusaders dedicated to spinning the truth" and suggested that Leavitt’s transparency is making it hard for them to find legitimate claims to debunk. That’s a bold take, but it’s clear the fact-checking feud is alive and well.

Fox News Digital has reached out to PolitiFact for their side of the story. Something tells me this won’t be the last we hear about this battle of press secretaries versus fact-checkers.