At a Glance
- Donald Trump joked he won’t grab press secretary Karoline Leavitt as turbulence hit Air Force One on Jan. 11
- The quip came after a reporter asked about Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado
- Trump previously praised Leavitt’s performance and called her “a star”
- Why it matters: The moment highlights Trump’s habit of blending humor with deflection during policy questions
President Donald Trump turned a routine press question about Venezuela into a lighthearted moment aboard Air Force One, using expected turbulence as a comedic escape hatch while his press secretary stood nearby.
Turbulence Interrupts Venezuela Question
As reporters quizzed the president on Sunday, Jan. 11, about possible meetings with María Corina Machado, the 58-year-old Venezuelan opposition leader who recently offered to give Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, the aircraft began to jostle. Trump, 79, glanced toward the curtain behind him and announced, “I’m looking for something to grab here … it’s going to get rough.”
He then looked at the press pool and said, “I think you did this to me. You’ve put me in a position where there’s absolutely nothing to grab.”
Pivoting toward Karoline Leavitt, 28, who stood behind him, Trump added, “I’m looking for something to grab and it’s not going to be Karoline.”
The president had opened the Q&A by warning journalists of bumpy skies ahead. “It’s going to be very rough in about 10 minutes, so we’ll have to go a little bit quickly,” he said. “They just said, very, very rough.”
Previous Turbulence and Press Secretary Praise
Trump’s comfort with airborne banter is not new. On Oct. 30, after a five-day Asia tour, he told reporters that turbulence made interviews challenging.
“These are tough conditions for interviews,” he said at the time. “They’re gonna be watching Trump, they’re gonna say, ‘He didn’t look too good. He’s got the shakes.’ I don’t have the shakes, but people are going to think I do.”
He added, “The interviews are tough enough without your life being threatened.”
The Jan. 11 joke follows another headline-grabbing moment on Oct. 13, when Trump departed Israel and suddenly asked reporters, “How’s Karoline doing? Is she doing good? Should Karoline be replaced?”
When the press voiced support for Leavitt, Trump replied that replacing her would “never happen.” He then remarked, “That face … and those lips, they move like a machine gun.”
Leavitt’s Historic Role
Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, served as Trump’s national press secretary during the 2024 campaign before taking the podium in January 2025. In December, she announced she is expecting her second child with husband Nicholas Riccio, 60, becoming the first pregnant woman to hold the role.
During an August Newsmax interview, Trump told host Rob Finnerty, “She’s a star, and she’s great. I don’t think anybody has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline. She’s been amazing.”
Nobel Prize Confusion
The question that triggered the Jan. 11 quip centered on María Corina Machado, who told Fox News she wanted to give Trump her Nobel Peace Prize. On Jan. 9, the Nobel Committee issued a rare statement clarifying that the honor is non-transferable.
Key Takeaways
- Trump used turbulence to dodge a direct answer on Venezuela policy
- The moment showcases his reliance on humor to control press narratives
- Leavitt remains a focal point of Trump’s public affection and protection
