After sparking backlash for saying in a FOX News interview that Gen Z is "a little lazy," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended herself and backed away from the comment. She attributed the backlash to "bad faith actors" taking her comments out of context.
During the interview, Leavitt mentioned laziness and liberal indoctrination in the education system as factors influencing young people's support for communist ideas.
While discussing the rise of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Leavitt criticized Gen Z for being raised with "silver spoons in their mouths" and not embodying the values of meritocracy that the country was built on.
“Some of these kids—and I call them kids because they are in their twenties and have never had real jobs, and they’re complaining that things are expensive. Yes, things are expensive when you don’t have a real job,” FOX pundit Jesse Watters said in the interview.
“Do you think that’s getting traction? Complaining?” he asked Leavitt.
“Unfortunately, I do, because this generation, my generation, I hate to say it, Gen Z and those younger than me have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths, just getting everything handed to them. That’s not the values this country was built on,” the 28-year-old White House press secretary and new Mom said.
She later added, “It’s laziness, and it’s the liberal indoctrination.” She continued by blaming the country’s public education and praising parents who homeschool.
When Watters suggested kids who act up should be forced into the military, she added, "“Send them to Cuba. Send them to Iran, they’re gonna want to come back real quick.”
She later blamed "bad faith actors" for taking her comments out context, when members of Gen Z made it clear they didn't appreciate being called lazy. But she also doubled down on her belief some of them are lazy.
Gen Z-aimed website Morning Honey said "the post did not land the way Leavitt appeared to intend," adding "critics argued that the explanation compounded the original offense rather than addressing it."
"No one is taking anything out of context," one X user wrote. "Laziness has NOTHING to do with what young people are suffering in Trump's terrible economy." Another user said: "People are struggling and you dismissed them as hapless rabble."
I am seeing a lot of bad faith actors take my comments from this interview out of context. So here’s the full interview, and let me expound.
— Karoline Leavitt (@karolineleavitt) July 5, 2026
This interview was about the rise of communism on the Left, and I was asked by Jesse Watters why so many young people are buying the false… https://t.co/dbnfxZAEqV
She clarified that her interview was about the rise of communism on the Left and the appeal of "free stuff" promised by communist politicians to young people, and not meant as an indictment of all Gen Z.
Leavitt stood by her assertion that some educators are misleading students and emphasized the importance of protecting the American Dream for "hardworking and patriotic Gen Z Americans."
"I care enough about our country to tell uncomfortable truths," she wrote. "And it’s an undeniable fact that a growing number of young people in our country are falling for the lies of socialism and communism, sold to them by anti-American politicians who’ve never built anything, offer no real solutions, and are intent on tearing down everything that makes this country great."
