Photo courtesy of Christopher Anderson (Vanity Fair)
Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump’s former press secretary, joined Fox News as a contributor on November 1. Her hiring is the latest example of a revolving door between partisan government jobs and newsrooms, and it should serve as a reminder to viewers of the importance of understanding the media’s biases. Ironically, Leavitt’s history reveals her belief in the media’s ability to twist information to benefit political parties.
During college, Leavitt wrote an article titled “American Media: Distorting the Truth for Political Objectives” for The Saint Anselm Crier, expressing her discontent with political media. In it, she stated, “The liberal media is unjust, unfair, and sometimes just plain old false,” and criticized one of her favorite news anchors’ bias towards Democrats.
Fox News is already widely known to support Republican beliefs and promote conservative viewpoints. Leavitt’s move is far from unprecedented. “People who serve under certain administrations tend to go to media outlets that are aligned with the administration’s party,” says Young Democrats Faculty Advisor Tracey Motley. She points to Kayleigh McEnany, who joined Fox News after serving under the Trump Administration and Jen Psaki, who moved to MSNBC after serving under President Biden. However, Leavitt has already been noted as a firm supporter of Trump and his actions, as expressed by Erica L. Green, author of the New York Times article “Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s Press Secretary, to Depart White House.” In it, Green describes Leavitt as “one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal allies and fiercest defenders.” Leavitt herself stated that she would “always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party,” demonstrating her obvious bias towards Republicans.
Cai Parker ’27 says, “Her advocacy is for only one side—it’s not really what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s more so: this is the side I agree with, this is the side I’ve been a part of for so long, this is the side I will speak for.” One of Leavitt’s well-known traits is her fiery and direct criticism of left-wing supporters. In January of 2026, she openly criticized a journalist for seeming to be biased, stating that they should not be allowed to work for their news network. The hypocrisy is apparent in her move to Fox News, as Leavitt’s concerns about the news reporter bias now apply to herself as well.
Fox News already espouses primarily conservative views, so the addition of Leavitt to their team may lock down their ideology even more. Having so many right-leaning commentators and journalists does not bode well for Fox News’ trustworthiness and reliability as an information source. However, not everyone sees this as a problem. “I haven’t really thought that people would assume the news didn’t have bias,” says Upper School history teacher David Mercante. While it is true that most outlets are proudly partisan, there is a distinction to be made between a newsroom with partiality and one that trusts the president’s past spokesperson, who remains a close advisor to the president, to accurately relay news.
Photo courtesy of people.com
Inayah Claxton ’29 sees more risk, arguing, “Having somebody who has a certain political standpoint can be beneficial in some ways but also detrimental in others. It brings more tunnel vision views to the news, in which it’s supposed to be informing everyone, and not just imposing one certain opinion on everyone.” Her concern is that hires like Leavitt could narrow the network’s coverage to a single perspective. News networks such as Fox News have the responsibility to provide accurate information about the political scene to the American people. Introducing heavy bias to one side of the political field does not have positive implications; instead, it increases the possibility of creating misinformation and conflict.
While one might assume partiality could impact viewership and profit, the format of a news source impacts how they approach the issue. Mercante points out that a network’s business model changes how much bias it can afford to have: “If you take broadcasting stations, they have to appeal to everyone in order to make money, so they’re more likely to stick to the middle of the road.” On the other hand, Mercante says, “Something like cable news can appeal to a specific group of people and still make money.” If this holds for Fox, then it has little financial pressure to balance its lineup, and the responsibility shifts to the audience.
As the political landscape grows more and more partisan, everyone in the US, including students here at EA, will need to be more aware and discerning about the media they consume. Claxton advises, “You have to be cautious of what you’re listening to and try not to be swayed by everything or believe everything.” The importance of skepticism during this era of political conflict and tension has dramatically increased. One must be cautious to blindly trust news networks without understanding their bias and how it affects their reporting.