White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt argued Thursday that a combination of “laziness” and liberal indoctrination is preventing many younger Americans from succeeding in the workforce, as she defended traditional values of hard work and school choice during an appearance on Fox News.
Leavitt joined Jesse Watters Primetime, where host Jesse Watters pointed to recent Democratic primary victories in New York by left-wing candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist. The races have fueled criticism from Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who declared following the results that “The communists are finally making their move.”
Among the recent victories, d New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated Rep. Dan Goldman to secure the Democratic nomination in the 10th Congressional District. Union organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District, while state Rep. Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the 7th District. Because all three districts are solidly Democratic, the Mamdani-backed candidates are expected to prevail in the general election.
Watters suggested that younger voters have embraced complaints about the economy despite lacking significant work experience.
“Some of these kids, and I call them kids because they’re in their 20s and they’ve never had real jobs and they’re complaining things are expensive in the U.S.,” Watters said. “Yes, things are expensive when you don’t have a real job. Do you think that’s getting traction? Complaining?”
Leavitt responded by criticizing members of her own generation.
“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,” she said.
Leavitt argued that those attitudes run counter to the principles she believes helped build the country.
“That’s not the values this country was built on. It was built on meritocracy and hard work, pulling up your sleeves, pulling yourself up from your bootstraps, and achieving the American dream, and we need to protect it with all we’ve got,” she said.
Watters then asked whether “laziness” was to blame before suggesting liberal professors may also bear responsibility.
Leavitt agreed with that assessment, saying both personal attitudes and the nation’s education system have contributed to the problem.
“It’s laziness and it’s liberal indoctrination,” she replied.
The White House press secretary also pointed to what she described as a growing number of parents choosing alternatives to public schools.
“You bring up a great point about our education system. However, I will say, silver lining, so many parents I talked to across the country are homeschooling, are turning to private education, are turning towards Christian schools across the country because they don’t want their children being taught these communist and liberal ideas slammed down their throat,” Leavitt said.
She added that President Trump and the White House have strongly supported school choice, arguing that families should have greater control over their children’s education.
“It’s why President Trump and the White House have advocated so strongly for school choice across the country,” Leavitt said. “We want kids to be taught to love our country. They should. It is the greatest country in the history of the world.”
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