White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has announced the birth of her second child, a baby girl named Viviana, known as Vivi. The 28-year-old gave birth on 1 May and shared the news on social media, saying her family's hearts "instantly exploded with love."
In her post, she described her daughter as "perfect and healthy" and said her son was enjoying "every moment in our blissful newborn bubble." She added: "Thank you to everyone who reached out with prayers during my pregnancy – I truly felt them throughout the entire experience. God is Good." Vivi is the second child for Leavitt and her husband, real estate developer Nicolas Riccio, 60. Their son, Nicolas, or "Niko," will turn two in July.
Leavitt has been on maternity leave from her role as press secretary, though she briefly returned to the podium following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on 24 April, which she attended. She held her last briefing before taking leave on 27 April, during which she blamed Democrats and the American press for the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.
At that briefing, she also criticised late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel for joking days earlier that First Lady Melania Trump had "the glow of an expectant widow." She described such rhetoric about the president, first lady and his supporters as "completely deranged" and called for negative commentary about Trump to end, urging commentators to "tone it down" following the shooting.
In Leavitt's absence, other top White House officials are expected to take questions in the press briefing room. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the first to stand in, telling reporters during a chaotic briefing: "This is chaos, guys." Leavitt had announced in late December that she was expecting a baby girl, sharing a photograph of herself in front of a Christmas tree on Instagram and expressing gratitude to President Trump and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for fostering a "pro-family environment" in the White House.
