2026-08-13T23:50:48.536Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
这已经成为华盛顿最热门的新社交游戏：谁会是卡罗琳·莱维特的继任者？
在唐纳德·特朗普总统于周三宣布其新闻秘书计划于月底离职，以便抽出更多时间陪伴年幼的家人后，各类人选开始在餐桌和短信群聊中流传。这一决定在距离中期选举不到三个月之际打乱了特朗普的新闻运作节奏。
对于这位认为自己就是最佳发言人的总统而言，接替莱维特将是一项挑战——莱维特不仅采取了积极的公开表态角色，还成为了他最信任的顾问之一。
“她是独一无二的。没人能复刻她的成就，”白宫通讯主任史蒂文·张周四在给CNN的短信中表示。
一名消息人士告诉CNN，一些白宫工作人员暂时不清楚谁能填补这一职位。一位接近白宫的消息人士暗示，总统可能会在中期选举后再任命继任者，而另有一些人预测，在特朗普剩余两年半的任期内，该职位可能会一直空缺。
但一位要求匿名以便畅所欲言的共和党幕僚建议，这一职位应尽快填补。
“这是中期选举时可调动的又一宣传资源，”该人士说道。
潜在候选人
总统尚未就谁能接任莱维特的职位发表意见。
但CNN通过与特朗普阵营的多名沟通人员和顾问交谈，列出了约十几个潜在人选。白宫淡化了任何候选名单的说法，称其不过是猜测或一厢情愿，且CNN尚未确认特朗普在多大程度上考虑过这些人选，或是这些人是否在争取该职位。
其中一些人选是现任或前任特朗普团队工作人员，许多人拥有有线电视新闻从业经验，至少还有一人是特朗普家族成员。
流传的人选包括斯科特·詹宁斯，他曾在乔治·W·布什政府的白宫任职，如今作为CNN特约评论员频频出镜，代表总统参与辩论。
据一位知情消息人士透露，在总统过渡期间，小唐纳德·特朗普曾支持詹宁斯出任最高发言人一职，但詹宁斯此次就该职位的相关意向打了太极。
“我不清楚，但我可以告诉你：卡罗琳·莱维特至少是过去30年来最出色的白宫新闻秘书之一。她的表现堪称卓越，”他周三在CNN的《艾比·菲利普斯新闻之夜》节目中说道。
阿丽娜·哈巴曾是特朗普的律师和政治顾问，短暂担任过新泽西州南区代理美国检察官，因其获得特朗普的信任而被列为人选。
还有莱维特的副手、首席副新闻秘书安娜·凯利，她是少数获授权可在包括福克斯新闻在内的媒体中作为特朗普代表发言的工作人员之一。
特里西娅·麦克劳林曾在国土安全部担任发言人，期间因积极为特朗普的边境政策辩护而频繁亮相有线电视新闻，她也是赢得特朗普信任的潜在人选之一。
伊丽莎白·皮普科曾是模特，也是共和党全国委员会发言人，与特朗普家族关系密切。一位接近特朗普的消息人士称，在莱维特获选之前，皮普科曾是该职位的候选人。
莫妮卡·克劳利曾是福克斯新闻分析师，如今担任美国首席礼宾官，经常随总统出行，并负责接待访问华盛顿的世界各国领导人。
罗玛·达拉维的盟友在社交媒体上推荐她作为候选人。达拉维曾在特朗普第一任期的新闻办公室工作，目前正担任处境艰难的肯尼迪中心通讯总监。
总统的儿媳劳拉·特朗普也可能是人选之一。她曾在2024年总统竞选期间担任共和党全国委员会主席，如今在福克斯新闻主持一档每周节目。
CNN的交谈中还提到了其他名字：长期为特朗普服务的沟通人员杰森·米勒、前首席副新闻秘书哈里森·菲尔兹，以及前ESPN主播、现为“让美国再次伟大”阵营盟友的塞奇·斯蒂尔。
预测市场也开始做出预判。Kalshi Politics周四上午将哈巴、凯利、米勒和达拉维列为榜首。（CNN与Kalshi有合作关系，并使用其数据报道重大事件，但CNN编辑人员不得使用预测市场数据。）
总统完全有可能选择完全不同的方向。
“会有很多人试图造势。如果有人表现得过于急切或推销过度，可能会引起总统的反感，”共和党战略家、特朗普2020年总统竞选发言人艾琳·马奎尔说道。
多位知情消息人士表示，继任人选迟迟不明的原因之一是，莱维特的离职决定让总统和白宫措手不及。
在5月生下第二个孩子之前，莱维特曾私下暗示可能会在特朗普的整个第二任期内担任该职位。这引发了一些工作人员的不满，一位知情人士担忧莱维特没有在新闻办公室培养人才梯队——这一问题如今正逐渐显现。
“团队成员并没有真正获得被视为接班人的空间，”该消息人士说道，并补充道，特朗普第一任期的新闻秘书前任们曾刻意授权赋能基层工作人员。
该消息人士暗示，特朗普表示将继续担任外部顾问的莱维特，可能会对总统的最终决定产生一定影响。
多位消息人士表示，短期内白宫可能会沿用莱维特休产假期间的做法，派遣副总统JD·万斯、国务卿马可·卢比奥等多位高级官员负责当日的信息传递和回应记者提问——尽管他们在讲台前应对压力的表现各有优劣。
特朗普并非传统总统，他不需要传统的新闻秘书来对接媒体——他经常直接与媒体对话，也会回应记者的电话和短信。
无论他选择的是常上电视的人选，还是更倾向于幕后工作的人，他的选择都必须获得他的信任。
“我看不到有非本阵营的人能接任的情况。最大的障碍在于，合格且足够贴近核心圈子的人选池很小，”马奎尔说道。
还有一个关于形象的问题。
“一切都要符合‘核心形象’的标准，”一位接近特朗普的消息人士表示，并补充道，“我认为他不在乎谁真正能胜任这份工作。关键在于他或她看起来怎么样。”
但另一位消息人士暗示，他可能想要一位比莱维特“名气更小”的人选——莱维特在特朗普第二任期内成为了家喻户晓的人物，Instagram粉丝量超过300万。
许多潜在候选人都在右翼媒体上宣传总统及其政策，而莱维特则巩固了在新闻发布会上求助于友好记者的做法，包括设立“新媒体”席位。
但这位接近特朗普的消息人士建议，任何合格的候选人都应该花些时间在其他媒体上为总统辩护，以适应新闻发布会上的快速问答节奏。
“我认为人们没有意识到做好这份工作需要多少学习、多少阅读、多少对所有可能被问到的话题的透彻理解——我不认为所有人都明白这份工作有多辛苦，”该消息人士说道。
但归根结底，莱维特的继任者必须只为一位观众表演。
“这是世界上最受瞩目的讲台，所以填补这一职位是总统将做出的最重要考量之一——因为他关心信息传递，关心信息内容，也关心传递信息的人，”马奎尔说道。
CNN的阿莱娜·特里尼为本报告贡献了内容。
Who could replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary?
2026-08-13T23:50:48.536Z / CNN
It’s become Washington’s hottest new parlor game: Who will be Karoline Leavitt’s successor?
Names started circulating at dinner tables and over text chains after President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday his press secretary’s plans to depart at the end of the month to spend more time with her young family, upending his press operation with less than three months until the midterm elections.
For a president who believes he’s his own best spokesperson, replacing Leavitt — who took a proactive, public-facing role but also became one of his most trusted advisers — will be a challenge.
“She is one of one. Nobody will ever be able to do what she did,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told CNN in a text message Thursday.
It was not immediately clear to some White House staff who would fill the role, a source told CNN. One source close to the White House suggested the president might not name a replacement until after the midterms, while some predicted the role might stay unfilled for the duration of Trump’s two and a half years left in office.
But one GOP operative granted anonymity to speak freely suggested the job should be filled — and soon.
“It’s another deployable asset for the midterms,” they said.
Potential candidates
The president has yet to weigh in on who could fill Leavitt’s shoes.
But about a dozen names emerged as potential options from CNN’s conversations with several communicators and advisers in Trump’s orbit. The White House downplayed any shortlists as speculation or wish casting, and CNN hasn’t confirmed to what degree Trump is considering any of these people or whether they’re pursuing the job.
Some names are current or former Trump staffers, many have cable news experience, and at least one is a Trump family member.
Among the names circulating is Scott Jennings, who served in the George W. Bush White House and has made waves as a CNN contributor sparring on the president’s behalf.
Jennings — who had the backing of Donald Trump Jr. for the top spokesperson job during the presidential transition, according to a source with knowledge — has deflected about interest in the role this time around.
“I don’t know but I’ll tell you this: Karoline Leavitt has been maybe the greatest White House press secretary in the last 30 years at least. She’s been nothing short of brilliant,” he said Wednesday on CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip.”
Alina Habba, a former lawyer and political adviser to Trump who briefly served as acting US attorney for the District of New Jersey, has been floated as an option with Trump’s trust.
And then there’s Leavitt’s number two, principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, who’s one of a small handful of staffers authorized to speak as a surrogate on outlets including Fox News.
Tricia McLaughlin, who became a frequent presence on cable news during her time aggressively defending Trump’s border policies as Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, could be another option who’s earned Trump’s confidence.
Elizabeth Pipko, a former model and Republican National Committee spokesperson, has close ties with the Trump family and was under consideration for the job before Leavitt’s selection, a source close to Trump said.
Monica Crowley, a former Fox News analyst now serving as the US chief of protocol, often travels with the president and plays host to world leaders visiting Washington.
Allies of Roma Daravi, who worked in Trump’s press shop in his first term and now is communications director for the embattled Kennedy Center, have been promoting her on social media as a contender.
The president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, could also be an option. She served as Republican National Committee chair during the 2024 presidential campaign and now hosts a weekly show on Fox News.
Other names that came up in CNN’s conversations include longtime Trump communicator Jason Miller, former principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields and former ESPN anchor-turned-MAGA-ally Sage Steele.
Prediction markets have also begun prognosticating. Kalshi Politics ranked Habba, Kelly, Miller and Daravi at the top of its list Thursday morning. (CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events. But CNN editorial employees are not allowed to use prediction markets.)
It’s also entirely possible that the president goes in another direction altogether.
“There will be plenty of people who try to drum up noise. If anybody seems too eager or like they’re pushing too much, that could turn the president off,” said Erin Maguire, a Republican strategist and spokesperson for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.
One of the reasons a replacement wasn’t immediately clear, multiple sources familiar with the matter said, is because the timing of Leavitt’s decision caught the president and the White House off guard.
Prior to the birth of her second child in May, Leavitt had privately suggested she might stay in the role for the entirety of Trump’s second term. That didn’t sit well with some staffers, with one source familiar raising concerns that Leavitt did not create a pipeline of talent in her press shop — which is now becoming a problem.
“The team didn’t really get the latitude to be seen as heir apparent,” that source said, adding that Leavitt’s predecessors in Trump’s first term had been intentional about empowering lower-level staffers.
Leavitt — who Trump said will remain an outside adviser — will likely have some influence over Trump’s eventual decision, that source suggested.
In the short-term, multiple sources suggested the White House could return to the playbook used during Leavitt’s maternity leave, deploying Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among other top officials, to deliver the day’s messaging and field questions — although they handled the pressure of the podium with various levels of success.
Trump isn’t a traditional president who needs a traditional press secretary to interface with the media — he often speaks directly to the press and has also been known to respond to reporters’ calls and texts.
Regardless of whether he goes for someone who’s on TV or who operates more behind-the-scenes, his pick will have to have his trust.
“I don’t see an instance where someone from outside the orbit comes in. That’s the biggest hurdle — it’s a small pool of people qualified and enough in the orbit to be considered,” Maguire said.
There’s also the question of presentation.
“Everything is viewed through the eyes of ‘central casting,” said one source close to Trump, adding, “I don’t think he cares who can actually do the job. I think it’s about what he or she looks like.”
But another source suggested he may want someone who’s “less of a celebrity” than Leavitt, who became a household name and built an Instagram following of more than 3 million during Trump’s second term.
Many of the potential contenders have promoted the president and his policies on right-leaning outlets, and Leavitt solidified a practice of turning to friendly reporters during her briefings, including the establishment of a “new media” seat.
But the source close to Trump suggested that any viable contender should spend some time defending the president on other networks to prepare for the rapid-fire of the briefing room.
“I don’t think people grasp how much studying is required to do that job, how much reading, how much thoroughly understanding every topic you could possibly be asked — I don’t think everybody recognizes how much work that is,” the source said.
But ultimately, Leavitt’s successor will have to perform for an audience of one.
“It is the biggest podium in the world, so filling that role is one of the biggest calculations the president is going to make — because he cares about message, he cares about the messaging, and he cares about the messenger,” Maguire said.
CNN’s Alayna Treene contributed to this report.
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