Iran’s embassy in South Africa has promoted a claim linking Karoline Leavitt’s resignation as White House press secretary to a reported deception involving President Donald Trump’s departure from Turkey.
But the claim is not supported by the available evidence, and the White House has said Leavitt was not on the flight involved in the episode.
Leavitt announced on Wednesday that she would leave her post at the end of August, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family and could not give her two young children the time she believed they deserved while handling the demands of the press secretary's job. Trump said he understood and respected her decision and said she would remain an outside adviser.
What did Iran’s embassy claim about Karoline Leavitt?
The Iranian Embassy in South Africa posted a photograph of Leavitt on X and celebrated her resignation while tying it to the reported Air Force One deception.
The embassy suggested that Trump had betrayed Leavitt by leaving her in danger while he escaped on another aircraft. The post referred to the episode as an act of betrayal and mocked Trump over his reported use of a catering truck during the operation.
{{/usCountry}}The embassy suggested that Trump had betrayed Leavitt by leaving her in danger while he escaped on another aircraft. The post referred to the episode as an act of betrayal and mocked Trump over his reported use of a catering truck during the operation.
{{/usCountry}}The claim gained traction online after social-media users speculated that Leavitt may have been among those left aboard the aircraft used as a decoy.
According to the Forbes report, the White House told Snopes that the claim was false and that Leavitt was not on the trip.
What happened with Trump’s plane?
Trump was reportedly moved from the new Air Force One aircraft to a smaller Air Force C-32A shortly before leaving Ankara, Turkey, on July 8.
According to reporting cited by Forbes, Trump initially planned to leave Turkey on the older aircraft but was secretly moved using a catering truck after US intelligence officials identified what authorities considered a credible threat involving Iran. Trump later confirmed that security and military officials wanted him to use a different aircraft because of a threat.
A number of officials, aides and journalists remained on the original aircraft, which subsequently flew toward Britain. The unusual operation prompted questions about the decision to leave others aboard the plane that had reportedly been considered unsafe for the president.
Why did Karoline Leavitt resign?
Leavitt's stated reason for leaving is her family, not the Turkey flight incident.
She said that after returning from maternity leave, she concluded she could not simultaneously be the mother she wanted to be to her two young children and devote the constant time and energy required by the White House press secretary position.
Leavitt gave birth to her second child on May 1. She returned to the White House podium on July 16, although she had resumed work several weeks earlier. She is expected to leave the press secretary role at the end of August.
Trump has said Leavitt will remain a close political ally, describing her as someone who will be among his “top outside advisors” and an influential voice within the Republican Party.