Karoline Leavitt Turns Over Briefing Room Podium To 9-Year-Old Cancer Patient

On Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt extended an invitation to 9-year-old cancer patient Vivian Sleeth from Rockledge, Florida, allowing her to step up to the podium in the briefing room.

Fulfilling a heartfelt wish, Vivian had the opportunity to answer questions just as Leavitt does, with Leavitt’s team playing along as reporters. The very first question posed to Vivian was about her favorite color.

She answered, “Blue,” which happened to be the color she and her mother, Brittany Sleeth, were wearing, along with matching “Team Vivian” hoodies.

Another member of Leavitt’s team then inquired whether Vivian had any siblings or pets.

“I have a doggie and a friend,” she responded, before playfully adding, “an annoying friend,” which caused an outburst of laughter among the gathered ‘press corps.’ Her mother quickly interjected with a lighthearted, “You can cut that.”

Vivian’s mother also mentioned that the young girl has a brother, prompting Vivian to confirm that he does, in fact, exist.

As she answered several more questions, Vivian shared that chocolate is her favorite ice cream flavor and that pancakes rank as her number one food choice. She also correctly identified Donald Trump as the president.

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When asked what she would do if she were president for a day, Vivian said she would distribute gifts to both children and adults—including special coupons for spa visits lasting an hour for the adults. She also expressed her dream of becoming a police officer when she grows up and revealed that her biggest wish right now is to own “a million dogs.”

According to Florida Today, Vivian has been defying expectations in her fight against DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), a rare and aggressive pediatric brain cancer. She received the diagnosis after she began experiencing double vision in June 2022.

“There is no cure or known cause. Even with radiation therapy, children typically only survive nine to 11 months after their diagnosis, the Cleveland Clinic reports,” the outlet noted.

In November 2022, Vivian started receiving experimental treatments at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where doctors used focused ultrasound waves to target her tumor.

Friday’s event in the briefing room brought back memories of when Trump honored 13-year-old Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel as an honorary member of the Secret Service during his congressional speech earlier this month.

Trump shared that DJ had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 and was originally given only five months to live. The president emphasized, “That was more than six years ago.”

Democrats faced heavy criticism for their refusal to acknowledge or stand for the grieving mothers of two young girls who were brutally murdered by illegal immigrants, as well as for DJ, during Trump’s recent speech to Congress.

Their reaction prompted Clinton pollster Doug Schoen to suggest that some Democrats might start abandoning the party, potentially including Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman.

“I certainly think that is possible if you look at what he’s said and what he’s done. It’s clear he’s uncomfortable in the Democratic Party, as frankly, I am,” Schoen told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “I disagree with the Republicans on a lot of things. They go further than I would go. So I cling to my membership in the Democratic Party, but it’s not the same party.”

“It isn’t the party of John F. Kennedy or Bill Clinton. Moderates are really not welcome. And I wish we could have the kind of discussion about issues that most of us want, that President Trump, I think, was inviting from the opposition, that is sadly absent,” he continued. “It’s a woke, far-left party that I really have very little in common with, with the party that I helped build and [helped] re-elect, proudly, Bill Clinton.”