‘Show-off gone bad’: Karoline Leavitt, 28, shares a rare family photo with 60-year-old husband — the reaction online shocked her
Washington, D.C. – White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, offered a glimpse into her family life last week with a series of fall-themed photos on Instagram, featuring her husband Nicholas Riccio, 60, and 1-year-old son Niko at the White House Halloween event, where the toddler was dressed as a pumpkin.
The post, captioned “October was a treat!”, also included trick-or-treat images of the family in orange-and-black outfits. Leavitt and Riccio, who married in January shortly before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, welcomed Niko (full name Nicholas Robert Riccio).
The photos showed Leavitt, Riccio and Niko posing amid White House decorations, with Leavitt carrying the pumpkin-clad toddler. Additional slides captured the family in matching costumes during neighborhood trick-or-treating.
Brutal Criticisms Under Karoline Leavitt’s Family Photos
Commenters savaged her Instagram post of her family in pumpkin costumes, slamming her hypocrisy amid SNAP cuts and mocking her 32-year age gap with husband Nicholas Riccio, 60.
“Cute grandpa-husband pics while kids starve—your ‘treat’ is our nightmare,” one sneered. Another jabbed, “Daddy Riccio or husband? Hard to tell—enjoy the treats, millions on SNAP can’t.”
“Trump’s toddler bride flaunts sugar-daddy life,” a reply mocked. “Oops, show-off gone bad karoline…lea-vitt alone,” another posted. “Introvert husband hides from the mess you help create,” another taunted. The comment backlash turned a family moment into a political firestorm, blending shutdown fury with age-gap ridicule.
Leavitt and Riccio met in 2022 during her unsuccessful congressional run in New Hampshire. A mutual friend hosted an event at Riccio’s restaurant, where Leavitt was speaking.
“We met and were acquainted as friends. And then we fell in love,” Leavitt recalled in a February interview on The Megyn Kelly Show. Engaged over Christmas 2023, they wed in a small ceremony days before Trump’s January 20, 2025, inauguration.
In the interview, Leavitt addressed their 32-year age gap: “It’s a very atypical love story, but he’s incredible. He’s the father of my child, and he’s the best dad I could ever ask for.”
Riccio, a real estate developer, is “my greatest supporter, my best friend and my rock,” she said. “He’s built a very successful business himself so now he’s fully supportive of me building my success in my career.”
Leavitt explained Riccio’s low social media profile: “He’s an introvert (complete opposite of me). I respect his privacy on here—but he’s my number one fan, the best dad, and just the best man I’ve ever met.”
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Recent Press Exchange Controversy
The family post came amid backlash over Leavitt’s exchange with HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte. Dáte texted Leavitt about a planned Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest: “Who suggested Budapest?”
Leavitt replied, “Your mom did.”
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When Dáte asked if it was “funny,” she responded, “It’s funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal[sic]. You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media… Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bull— questions.”
Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the interaction on The View.
“I just feel like it is not appropriate to do online trolling and attack people in that way. It doesn’t help with the partisanship that we’re seeing right now. And also, that is not what the White House is supposed to be about. It’s supposed to be about every American person, every voter, every citizen, that lives in this country and participates.”
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