Vanity Fair Photographer Defends Controversial Close-Up of Karoline Leavitt

The photographer behind a widely discussed close-up of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has broken his silence to defend the image. Christopher Anderson captured the portrait for a Vanity Fair feature on President Donald Trump’s “core team.” While the article included other officials, such as Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, it was Leavitt’s photo that sparked the most attention.

White House Pushback

The White House criticized the portrait. Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told People magazine that Vanity Fair “intentionally photographed Karoline and the staff in bizarre ways to demean and embarrass them.” Leavitt herself has not commented on the photo or cosmetic speculation.

Photographer Speaks Out

Christopher Anderson defended his work in an interview with The Independent. He denied attempting to portray Leavitt negatively.

“Very close-up portraiture has been a fixture in my work for years, especially in political photography,” Anderson explained. “My goal is to cut through the image politics want to project and capture something more truthful.”
Anderson emphasized that he has used the same style with politicians from both parties. Regarding Leavitt’s photo, he noted it was interesting to get even closer to her than to other officials.

Remarks from Colleagues

Anderson also shared an encounter with Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who reminded him, “You have a lot of power in the discretion you use to be kind in your photographs.” Anderson replied, “You know, you do too.”

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