Trump has repeatedly made unusual, appearance-focused comments about his press secretary Karoline Leavitt that have drawn criticism as “creepy” or unprofessional.

Main remarks

Trump has praised Leavitt as a “superstar” and emphasized her “beautiful face,” saying that when she appears on television, networks “dominate,” tying her value to how she looks on camera. In multiple instances he has highlighted “that face” and “that brain” while returning again and again to “those lips.”

The “machine gun” lips comment

In an August 2025 Newsmax interview and later with reporters on Air Force One, Trump said Leavitt’s lips “move like a machine gun,” portraying this as praise for how aggressively she defends him on TV. He also said her lips “don’t stop” and described them in rapid-fire, sound‑effect terms during a Pennsylvania rally, which helped push clips of the remarks viral.

Reaction and context

These comments prompted widespread backlash online, with many critics calling them objectifying, inappropriate, and especially uncomfortable given the power imbalance between a president and his employee. The controversy has fed into broader debates about Trump’s long‑standing tendency to talk about women’s appearance rather than focusing solely on their professional performance.