Karoline Leavitt’s New Look in Vanity Fair Article Sparks Criticism Online

Was Karoline Leavitt ready for her close up?

Some critics online are wondering the same after a new Vanity Fair photo of the White House press secretary sparked a wave of commentary across social media. The image appears in a recent Vanity Fair article centered on an interview with President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and features a tightly cropped shot of Leavitt’s face.

Several viewers zeroed in on Leavitt’s lips, with some speculating that she may have recently received lip injections. In the image, small red marks appear along the edges of her lips beneath the gloss she was wearing.

“Oh they did her diiiiirty with this one. Those are literally fresh injection marks on her upper lip,” one Reddit user wrote.

Another commenter added, “It looks like when I caught Hand Foot and Mouth virus from my toddler,” while a third chimed in, “I love this for her. Her makeup is rubbed off her nose too. They didn’t do a single thing to help her out here.”

The scrutiny over Leavitt’s appearance came as both she and Wiles, 68, publicly criticized Vanity Fair for its handling of the interview itself. In the article, Wiles was quoted describing Trump, 79, as having “an alcoholic’s personality” and saying he “operates [with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do.”

Wiles, who has worked with Trump since his 2016 campaign in Florida, later pushed back forcefully against the outlet.

“The article published early this morning is a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history,” Wiles wrote in a statement shared on X on Tuesday, December 16. “Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story. I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.”

Leavitt, 28, echoed that sentiment in a post of her own, voicing support for Wiles and the administration.

“Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has helped President Trump achieve the most successful first 11 months in office of any President in American history,” Leavitt wrote. “President Trump has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie. The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her.”