Outgoing Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Claims Democrats Want To Abolish Our Police in Final Fox Chat

Karoline Leavitt used her final appearance as White House Press Secretary on Fox News in New York on Thursday, August 27, to warn viewers that Democrats 'want to open our prisons, abolish our police, and keep our borders wide-open,' as she set out President Donald Trump's case ahead of November's Midterm elections.

The 28-year-old MAGA figurehead was on Fox & Friends to mark her departure from the West Wing after 20 months at the podium and to sketch out what comes next, both for her and for Trump.

The interview doubled as a soft farewell and a hard political pitch, with Leavitt repeatedly urging Fox viewers to remember what she framed as the administration's achievements before they head to the polls.

While balancing a bittersweet personal departure to spend more time with her young children, Leavitt slipped seamlessly back into full campaign mode.

She defended administration policies, championed middle-class tax cuts, and intensified rhetoric regarding immigration and law enforcement.

The high-profile broadcast served as both a soft personal farewell and a hard-hitting political rallying cry for the conservative base.

As the administration prepares for a critical Congressional election cycle, Leavitt's transition to an outside advisory role ensures her prominent voice will remain central to Republican messaging nationwide.

Karoline Leavitt Uses Farewell To Hammer Democrats on Crime and Border

Leavitt had already teased that she would not be disappearing from public view, telling audiences earlier in the week, 'You guys will see me all the time', as she moves into a new role as a top adviser to Trump outside government. On Thursday's show, though still officially a federal employee, she slipped straight back into campaign mode.

Pressed by host Brian Kilmeade about how aggressively Trump plans to spend his considerable campaign war chest in states like Texas to support embattled Republican figures such as Ken Paxton, Leavitt kept the numbers vague but the promise clear.

'I don't have an exact dollar figure for you, I'm still a government employee here at the White House today,' she said, before adding that the president 'intends to spend money to ensure Republicans get over the finish line.'

She said Trump would be 'traversing the country, meeting with everyday Americans, and campaigning on behalf of the great Republican candidates across the board,' positioning the Midterms as a straight fight over taxes, the border and public safety.

Leavitt pivoted to her core message. 'What your audience needs to remember is what this president and Republicans in Congress have done,' she told hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Kilmeade and Lawrence Jones.

She rattled through a list that has become standard Trump campaign fare: what she described as 'the largest middle-class tax cuts in American history', and proposals for no tax on tips, overtime or Social Security.

According to Leavitt, these moves are 'putting more money in your pockets today,' and she accused Democrats of voting against 'every single one of those policies.'

'So, they want to talk about affordability?' she said. 'They voted to raise your taxes, they voted against the largest middle-class tax cuts in American history.'

Democrats have long disputed the framing of those cuts and the claim they benefit the middle class most.

It was her language on immigration and policing, though, that had the sharpest edge. Leavitt argued that Trump had inherited 'a mess, a wide-open border, from the Democrats in the Biden administration' and insisted he had 'sealed it on day one.'

She told viewers the administration is 'deporting violent, illegal alien criminals from this country' and branded Democrats 'complete radicals on this issue.'

Then came the line that will stick. 'They want to open our prisons, abolish our police, and keep our borders wide-open to countries and criminals all over this world,' she claimed. 'So, there's a huge contrast on the ballot, and you're going to continue to hear the president drive that contrast in travel across the country.'

Democratic leaders have consistently denied wanting to abolish the police or open prisons, and there is no single Democratic policy that matches Leavitt's description. Nothing is confirmed yet, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt regarding those broader characterisations.

Karoline Leavitt Balances 'Adventure of a Lifetime' With Motherhood

Leavitt's exit from the White House has been framed as much a personal decision as a political reset. A montage of her feistiest briefings played out on Fox & Friends, showing her jousting with reporters and defending Trump on everything from the border to inflation.

'Oh, man, good times. Great memories,' she laughed when the clip ended. 'There's nothing like stepping before that podium.'

Earlier in the segment, she called serving as Press Secretary 'the adventure of a lifetime' and said she would 'definitely' miss being behind the famous lectern.

'It's a little bit bittersweet,' she admitted. 'It's bitter because I'm leaving a job that I love so very much, and it's been the honour and blessing of a lifetime to work for this president. There will never be another like him.'

Leavitt, who has two young children, said Trump had been 'very understanding as a boss and a friend' about her decision to step back, describing her two-year-old and four-month-old as being at 'a critical time in their life where they need their mom home a little bit more.'

She stressed, however, that she is not cutting ties with Trumpworld. She said she looks forward to spending more time with her family while 'continuing to serve the president as a top advisor on the outside.'

Neither the White House nor Trump's campaign operation has yet to release formal details of Leavitt's new advisory role or her likely media presence, although her own on-air hint that 'you guys will see me all the time' suggests Fox viewers have not seen the last of her.

Her replacement behind the podium had not been officially announced at the time of broadcast, leaving a small question mark over how the administration plans to fill one of its most visible slots.

In the Trump era, visibility is the point, and Leavitt embraced that fully. Whether her successor chooses the same high-voltage style is another story.