‘Creepy’ and ‘Clownism’: Trump’s ‘grabbing’ joke about Karoline Leavitt during flight turbulence enrages netizens

American President Donald Trump is known for his fun-loving nature and peculiar humour to many. The 79-year-old Republican president does not shy away from expressing anything that comes to his mind. From veering away in speeches to reading notes out loud, he has acknowledged his own tendencies to wander in verbal speech.

However, his most recent comment about White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has not made the internet double down with laughter. It has them furious over the President.


While aboard Air Force One on January 11, Trump was engaged in a mid-flight press interview as he returned to Washington from his stay at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. When the plane hit unexpected turbulence, he began searching for something to hold onto and balance himself with. Then, made a remark about the only person standing behind him, Karoline Leavitt.

“I’m looking for something to grab here because it’s going to get rough. I don’t seem to be in a great… I think you did this to me. You put me in a position where there is absolutely nothing to grab. So I’m looking for something to grab, and it’s not going to be Karoline,” he said on camera.

As he turned back to search for something to grab, Leavitt stepped aside showing him a handle nearby to grab on.

Netizens react to the viral video

The video of the seemingly humorous exchange quickly went viral online, prompting numerous comments condemning the President's thoughtless remark and raising questions about appropriateness and tone.

“What A Creep!," wrote an X user.

"Karoline is smiling but she is scared of Trump not sure what he may do," pointed out another.

"Always with the tasteless comments, even at a moment like that," condemned one.

"Absolute Clownism from him," quipped another.

Trump and Leavitt's flirty relationship

Interestingly, this isn't the first time Trump has made a comment on the 28-year-old press secretary. Previously, he has made a lengthy comment about Leavitt's physical appearance and professional prowess. “She’s become a star. It’s that face. It’s that brain. It’s those lips, the way they move. They move like she’s a machine gun,” he said.

The comparison of Leavitt's lips to a 'machine gun' drew immediate online criticism with many dubbing the remark inappropriate.

Trump's history of surprising comments

Karoline Leavitt isn't the only woman Trump has made eye-raising comments about. During the Christmas reception at the White House, Trump paused midway and grinned at a woman in the crowd. “Boy, you look like Ivanka,” he said, referring to his 44-year-old daughter. “Has anyone ever told you that? I’m looking and saying, ‘Is that Ivanka?’”

He even asked the woman to "turn around for the camera" asking the crowd to weigh in, “Doesn’t she look like Ivanka? It’s the most unbelievable thing,” he declared.

Before that he also made a shocking comment about his wife's undergarments. Speaking at a North Carolina rally in December 2025, he went off-topic to talk about the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022. “They went into my wife's closet ... they looked at her drawers,” he said, referring to Melania. The GOP leader then said: “Her undergarments, sometimes referred to as panties, are folded perfect, wrapped. They're, like, so perfect.” He even joked about her maintenance habits, saying, “I think that she steams them.”

While some consider these remarks as expressions of Trump's humorous nature, for others they tend to cross the personal and professional boundary.