Karoline Leavitt has a simple explanation for why Republicans got crushed in the midterms: Americans apparently forgot how much better their lives were under President Donald Trump.
But when the former White House press secretary tried to make that case on Fox News, her argument quickly ran into an uncomfortable reality check.
After Leavitt suggested the media misled voters about the economy, Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov reminded her that Americans know exactly how much money they have.
As Republicans suffered sweeping losses across the country, Leavitt attempted to blame voters’ perceptions rather than the administration’s record, arguing that Americans had forgotten Trump’s economic achievements.
Her insistence that people simply don’t understand their own financial circumstances only added to the perception that the White House and its allies are struggling to understand why voters turned against them.
Leavitt, now a Fox News commentator, made the remarks Tuesday night as election results showed Democrats headed for major victories in both chambers of Congress and several governors’ races.
“The Democrats don’t have a single policy solution when it comes to affordability, and unfortunately, I think the American people are going to find out that,” Leavitt said as the Republican losses mounted.
She then tried to contrast the current economic environment with the Biden administration, pointing to inflation under Trump’s predecessor while arguing that the recent spike in gasoline prices was a temporary consequence of the war with Iran.
“We had the worst affordability crisis in history with Joe Biden in office, with Democrats in power — we had record-high 9 percent inflation. And I think the president’s been very upfront with the American public that, as Jesse [Watters] said, the short-term pain of the gas prices is due to the fact that he doesn’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” she continued.
But Leavitt’s defense became increasingly difficult to reconcile with the election results and the economic pressures facing American households.
She suggested negative media coverage had caused voters to overlook the administration’s record.
“So unfortunately, I think the American people forgot about the good policy, maybe listened to the lying media on the other side. That is definitely in the back seat of the Democratic Party. And the Democrats don’t have policy solutions,” Leavitt proclaimed.
Tarlov pushed back, pointing out the obvious problem with suggesting Americans were simply unaware of their financial circumstances.
“They know how much money they have.”
Leavitt doubled down.
“They don’t,” she said. “They got more money in their pockets because of the president’s tax cuts that Democrats voted against.”
The exchange quickly became a target for critics online, many of whom saw it as an example of the administration’s unwillingness to acknowledge the economic difficulties voters are actually experiencing.
“All of these idiots in Trump’s orbit are stuck in this little bubble that tells them that everything is perfect and great and they are doing SUCH a terrific job,” one observer wrote on X. I don’t think she’s ACTUALLY aware that most of the country is struggling.”
Another reaction took aim at what critics viewed as an administration more interested in promoting its own version of prosperity than confronting voters’ concerns.
“They just don’t get it…Trump is talking about his new ballroom…Karo’Lyin Leavitt is still trying to gaslight us!”
Others were even less impressed with Leavitt’s attempt to explain away the Republican collapse, with one person saying, “If there is a worse response than this, I cannot imagine what it would be. Just when you think Republicans can’t get more tone deaf, enter, Karoline Leavitt.”
One critic argued that Leavitt’s comments revealed a deeper problem with how Trump’s allies interpret public opinion, suggesting they assume Americans form their views exclusively through news coverage rather than their own experiences.
“She’s so stupid she doesn’t even know how ill-informed she is. Notice how she assumes people only get their sense of reality from media. That’s revealing.”
Leavitt did acknowledge that rising gasoline prices had hurt Republicans politically, conceding that the economic fallout from Trump’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran had worsened the party’s position heading into the election.
“Nearly every incumbent president’s party loses the midterm elections… But I do believe undeniably that the history and the environment were worsened by the prices at the pump.”
Trump had campaigned on bringing gasoline prices down to $2 a gallon, but fuel costs surged after the February military operation against Iran. The increase added to voter frustration and contributed to declining approval ratings in the weeks before the election.
Leavitt’s explanation also contrasted with an unusually candid assessment from Vice President JD Vance, who directly blamed the Iran war for the Republican defeats.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance wrote in a lengthy post on X on Wednesday.
Vance cited polling suggesting that voters who abandoned Republicans would consider returning if the party ended the conflict, focused on the cost of living and inflation, put “America first,” and reconsidered the country’s relationship with Israel.
Trump himself acknowledged that the war played a role in the Republican losses, although he told The Wall Street Journal that he had no regrets and “would have done it again.”
The scale of the Democratic victory made the political consequences difficult to dismiss. Democrats were projected to win at least 245 House seats, comfortably surpassing the 218 needed for control, while also flipping Republican-held Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas.
The party also captured the governors’ offices in Ohio and Texas, with Amy Acton and Gina Hinojosa projected to defeat Republican opponents Vivek Ramaswamy and Greg Abbott, respectively.
Even Texas, long considered a Republican stronghold, turned blue.
