Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has offered a rare look at how President Donald Trump handles world leaders behind closed doors. In an interview released Tuesday on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast, Leavitt said the president speaks to allies and adversaries alike with the same bluntness Americans see at his press conferences. She described tense phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and a lunch where Trump confronted former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to his face over immigration.
“I sat in on a lunch with the president and Starmer. And we’re sitting around the table, and we’re all enjoying lunch. And we were in this beautiful place. And the president just starts ripping into him for his policies,” Leavitt said. According to Leavitt, Trump told the British leader, “Your policies here are so stupid. You need to close your borders.” She said he continued, “You need to deport these people you have in your country. I know your country, I know your people, they hate what you’re doing.” The account landed on the same day Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where his dealings with foreign leaders are once again in the spotlight.
Details & Background
Leavitt said the private conversations with Putin and Xi were “tense” and that she watched the president be “very straightforward” with both men. Asked about his language in those moments, she said that while Trump “curses a lot” in general, he kept those translator-assisted calls direct and professional. She pointed to Trump’s meeting with Xi in South Korea as an example of that approach producing results. “The president was very honest about the fentanyl coming into the country and [the precursors to the fentanyl] that were manufactured in China. And he brought that up as a sticking point and said, ‘You have to do something about that,’” she said.
Leavitt said the pressure paid off. “And sure enough. You know, a couple weeks later, I think it was Kash Patel who announced that those precursors would no longer be sent here. So, you know, he demanded results on behalf of our country, and he made sure that they were delivered upon,” she said. She added that Trump also pushed China to buy more American soybeans to support U.S. farmers, and that “sure enough after the meeting they did.” Trump and Xi met in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025, and the administration announced a trade framework afterward that included Chinese commitments on fentanyl precursors and agricultural purchases. Leavitt announced in August that she was leaving the press secretary job to spend more time with her family after giving birth to her second child in May.
Reactions
Leavitt framed the stories as proof that the president does not run two playbooks, one for the cameras and one for private meetings. “What he says to the media publicly is exactly what he’s saying behind the scenes privately, too. In fact, much of what he says privately at some point is going to become public when he speaks to the press, because he’s just candid, and he’s honest,” she said. She went further: “What he says with these foreign leaders behind the scenes is exactly what he tells the media five minutes later when he does a press conference. There’s no games.”
As of publication, there was no public response from Starmer, the Kremlin, or Beijing to Leavitt’s account, and her description of the conversations has not been independently confirmed by the other participants. Leavitt summed up her view of the president’s approach this way: “So, he’s always again advocating for what our country needs, what our people need, and he’s unequivocal about that.” When she stepped down in August, she wrote on X that serving as press secretary had been “the honor and adventure of a lifetime.”
Why This Matters to You
The fentanyl crisis has killed tens of thousands of Americans every year, and much of the chemical supply chain behind it has been traced to China. If Leavitt’s account is accurate, the president used direct, face-to-face pressure on Xi to force action on the precursor chemicals that feed that pipeline, rather than relying on years of quiet diplomacy that produced little. The soybean purchases she described matter too, because farm exports are a lifeline for rural communities hit hard by trade fights.
The Starmer story speaks to a question that affects every American: whether Washington will push allies to take border security as seriously as the administration takes it at home. Trump’s message to the British leader mirrors the policies he has pursued on America’s southern border, including tighter enforcement and deportations. With the president on the world stage this week at the United Nations, Leavitt’s inside account offers a clear picture of the style he brings to the table. For supporters, it is a reminder that the man behind closed doors is the same one Americans voted for, and that he intends to keep putting the nation’s security and economy first.
