What JD Vance Said From the White House Podium About Joe Biden Put Jaws on the Floor

September 8, 2026 Cat2, The Media
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Karoline Leavitt broke the legacy media's stranglehold on the White House briefing room – and now she's gone.

JD Vance stepped behind the podium Thursday for his first briefing since Leavitt's departure, and he wasn't about to let the moment pass quietly.

And what JD Vance said from the White House podium about Joe Biden put jaws on the floor.

Vance Made Clear Leavitt's Mission Isn't Going Anywhere

The first question came from Breitbart's Nick Gilbertson, asking how the administration planned to continue Leavitt's legacy of opening White House briefings to outlets outside the legacy media establishment.

Vance paid tribute to the woman who made it happen.

Leavitt "was not just a person who stood up here and answered your questions – and did so admirably," Vance told the press corps.

She was "an amazing person, an amazing mom" and "an amazing part of the very cohesive team that we had working here in the West Wing."

She had even texted Vance that morning to wish him luck in what he called the "very dangerous business" of fielding questions from reporters.

"So, Karoline, if you're watching – which hopefully you're not – but if you're watching, thank you for your service, thank you for your friendship, and thanks for doing a great job," he said.

Leavitt announced her resignation August 12, weeks after returning from maternity leave following the birth of her daughter Viviana in May.

She was 27 when Trump appointed her – the youngest White House press secretary in American history.

In 20 months behind that podium, she rewrote what the job looks like.

On day one, she introduced the "new media seat" – a front-row chair reserved for independent journalists, podcasters, and influencers, not the legacy outlets that had monopolized access for decades.

The holder of that seat gets the first question at every briefing.

In February 2025, she went further, announcing the White House would take direct control of press pool composition, ending what she called the "monopoly" held by the White House Correspondents Association.

"A select group of D.C.-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House," she said at the time.

Vance made clear Thursday that none of that is reversing.

"For too long, this room, and I think this city, have tried to lock out non-legacy media," he said. "We actually think it's an amazing way to democratize access to information. You should not have to have a fancy credential or a lot of money to tell a story to the American people."

Then Vance Made the Biden Joke Nobody in the Corporate Press Will Lead With

The briefing also covered the 9/11 25th anniversary ceremony, where Vance – not Trump – will represent the administration in New York City.

Trump stays in Washington, DC to commemorate the Pentagon attack.

Vance said he was genuinely looking forward to the trip.

"It's such an amazing honor to be able to go to New York and to share in that moment," he said.

Then he noted who else would be at the ceremony: former Presidents Obama, Clinton, Bush – and Joe Biden.

"I'm really looking forward to hanging out with Joe Biden," Vance said. "I'm sure that we'll have many, many intense intellectual conversations."

The room caught it.

Biden, 83, was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in May 2025 – cancer that has since metastasized to his bones.

Jill Biden told the Today show in June that her husband "will live with cancer till the rest of his life."

Vance has never been subtle about what he thinks that confirms.

"We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job," he told reporters after Biden's diagnosis broke.

The people who hid Biden's decline from the American public for four years don't get to pretend that question is unfair now.

Leavitt built the stage Vance is now standing on.

She smashed the old gatekeepers, handed the first question to people who actually represent how Americans consume news, and did it while raising two kids and running one of the most combative briefing rooms in White House history.

Trump called her "one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office."

That's the standard Vance inherited Thursday – and judging by what he said about Biden, he's not planning to lower it.

Sources:

  • Joe Saunders, "Watch: JD Vance Pays Tribute to Karoline Leavitt in First White House Press Briefing Since Her Departure," The Western Journal, September 3, 2026.
  • David Marcus, "Karoline Leavitt's Lasting Legacy Is Opening the White House to Indie Press," Fox News, August 2026.
  • Mary Margaret Olohan, "Karoline Leavitt Departs Trump White House to Praise and Gratitude," The Daily Wire, September 2026.
  • Trump Truth Social post announcing Leavitt departure, August 12, 2026.