Young Boy Helps Karoline Leavitt With a Flat Tire — And What She Does Next Completely Changes His Life
It was one of those golden spring afternoons in New Hampshire, where the light feels a little softer and the breeze a little kinder. Karoline Leavitt, just back from a local school assembly where she’d spoken about civic engagement and public service, was driving through the quieter part of town in her aging but reliable sedan.
She wasn’t thinking about politics or cameras. She was thinking about dinner, maybe stopping for groceries—just being ordinary, the way she liked to after long days of being on-air or speaking at events.
Then, suddenly, her car jolted.
A flat tire.
Alone on the Roadside
Karoline pulled over carefully and stepped out, inspecting the front passenger side. Completely flat. She popped the trunk and found the spare—but the jack was rusted, and she’d never changed a tire by herself.
She sighed, crouched down, and started trying anyway.
That’s when she heard the bounce of a ball behind her.
The Boy With the Basketball
A 13-year-old boy in a T-shirt and well-worn sneakers stood at the edge of the sidewalk. A basketball rested under one arm. He watched her for a moment, unsure whether to keep walking or offer help.
Karoline looked up and smiled.
“You play ball?”
The boy nodded. “Every day. Courts right over there.”
“You ever change a tire?” she asked, half-laughing.
He shrugged. “My uncle showed me once. I can try.”
A Simple Act With Big Meaning
His name was Jayden. Together, he and Karoline managed to raise the car and swap out the flat. He was surprisingly calm, methodical—taking instruction well, asking questions, and showing focus that Karoline admired immediately.
When they were done, she dusted her hands and said, “You know, you’ve got real potential. You ever think about doing something big with that mindset?”
Jayden smiled shyly. “Sometimes. But… things are kinda tough right now. My mom works nights. No car, so I walk to school. I try to stay out of trouble.”
Karoline crouched down beside him. “That takes strength, Jayden. And you’ve got it.”
The Start of Something Bigger
That same week, Karoline contacted a local youth development center—a place she had worked with before. She told them about Jayden, and soon after, he received an invitation to join a basketball and leadership program that combined athletics with academic support and mentorship.
Karoline personally sponsored his membership.
But she didn’t stop there.
She met with Jayden’s mother, learned about the family’s struggles, and quietly arranged for them to receive transportation support, school supplies, and tutoring for Jayden—all coordinated through local nonprofits she was already connected to.
More Than Basketball
Karoline visited the gym twice that month—not for publicity, but to check in on Jayden.
He had already blossomed: more confident, more driven.
He showed her a binder full of practice notes and goals he’d set for himself.
“I’m gonna make varsity,” he told her. “And I’m going to college.”
Karoline grinned. “And I’m going to be the loudest one cheering for you when you do.”
A Community Rallies
Word spread about what Karoline had done—not through a press release, but through Jayden’s coaches and teachers, who saw the shift in him.
Soon, other local kids in similar situations were offered spots in the same mentorship program. The initiative expanded. Donors contributed gear, scholarships, even internships for high schoolers.
Karoline didn’t take credit. But behind the scenes, she kept organizing—quietly making sure the door stayed open for the next kid like Jayden.
Jayden’s Journey Continues
Jayden earned a full scholarship to a regional basketball academy, with excellent academics to boot. His mom cried when the letter came.
He didn’t forget the moment that changed it all.
“Not because she gave me money,” he said in an interview, “but because she saw me—when no one else really had.”
One Flat Tire. One Conversation. One New Direction.
Karoline later reflected on that day in a town hall discussion.
“Sometimes helping someone doesn’t look like changing a law or passing a bill. Sometimes, it looks like a teenager handing you a wrench and changing your tire.
And all they need in return is someone to believe in them.”
The Community’s Response?
They started calling Jayden “The Tire Kid.”
And Karoline?
Locals began referring to her as “The Connector”—the one who brings quiet stories to light and turns them into something lasting.
Final Thoughts
A flat tire led to a chance meeting.
A basketball led to a bond.
And one small moment created a ripple that continues to grow.
Karoline Leavitt didn’t just fix her car that day.
She helped put a young man’s life back on the road to greatness.
Because sometimes, the road to change doesn’t start in Congress…
It starts with a jack, a ball, and a bit of belief.
Karoline Leavitt says what everyone at White House is thinking after Trump’s roughest week so far
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt ended her briefing by telling reporters ‘thank God it’s Friday’ after President Donald Trump‘s roughest week so far.
Leavitt spent just 21 minutes at the podium Friday – an abnormally short time for a White House briefing – before breathing that sigh of relief.
She had been peppered with questions on a variety of topics including the most obvious – tariffs, the Russia and Iran talks, Fox News’ Peter Doocy getting attacked by a bird, and the physical Trump was getting at Walter Reed presently.
Cara Castronuova, a former champion boxer turned White House correspondent for MyPillow founder Mike Lindell’s Lindell TV, asked Leavitt if the White House planned to release the president’s ‘fitness plan’ as part of his annual physical.
‘He actually looks healthier than ever before, healthier than he did eight years ago, I’m sure every one in this room can agree. Is he working out with Bobby Kennedy and eating less McDonald’s?’ Castronuova asked, cuing laughs.
Leavitt chuckled as well.
‘I can confirm the president is in very good shape, as you see on a near daily basis here,’ she answered. ‘And in that vein, thank God it’s Friday. It’s been a very long and busy week here at the White House, we’ll see you all on Monday.’
She added that the White House would release Trump’s physical results ‘as soon a we can.’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt gave a 21-minute briefing Friday and ended it by saying: ‘Thank God it’s Friday’
The president will head directly to Joint Base Andrews after departing Walter Reed – heading to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend.
Leavitt said he wouldn’t be put under anesthesia during Friday’s medical exam – which in the past has meant the vice president has briefly taken over, including when Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to hold presidential power when President Joe Biden was getting a colonoscopy.
Trump leaves Washington after a chaotic week – of implementing tariffs – and then delaying some of them, but escalating a trade war with China.
Leavitt was asked Friday why Trump wouldn’t just call Chinese President Xi Jinping and get the ball rolling.
She answered by saying that the U.S. would be ‘gracious’ if China intended to make a deal.
‘If China continues to retaliate, it’s not good for China,’ she added.
Leavitt was then asked again if China needed to make the first move.
She punted.
Trump (left) leaves Washington after a chaotic week – of implementing tariffs – and then delaying some of them, but escalating a trade war with China. He is photographed during a Cabinet meeting Thursday alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (right)
‘I’m not going to comment on communications that are happening or may not be happening or either way, we’ll leave it to our national security team to get these discussions underway,’ she said.
The press secretary was also pressed on how much medical information about Trump the White House would release.
Trump had publicly called on Biden to receive a cognitive exam in June 2024 – even before his disastrous debate – after the Republican included them as part of his White House physical in 2018.
Leavitt wouldn’t expressly say how much of Trump’s medical records the public would see – and didn’t answer a question directly about whether Trump’s new White House physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, would address the White House briefing room.
She did hammer the Biden White House for what she called ‘one of the greatest cover-ups and frankly political scandals this nation has ever seen.’
‘Well I can tell you there was certainly a lack of transparency from the former president, from the entire former administration, and frankly, a lot of people in this room when it came to the health and the confidence of the former President of the United States Joe Biden,’ Leavitt said.
She continued: ‘This president is clearly committed to transparency. You in this room see him and hear from him on a daily basis. You in this room know from covering him, it’s hard to keep up with him.’
‘He is a machine working around the clock every single day and the physician after today’s physical will provide an update on the report in the effort of transparency,’ she added.
During Trump’s first term, Dr. Ronny Jackson held court in the briefing room for an hour after the president’s first physical in January 2018.
Dr. Sean Conley didn’t do the same, but did brief reporters during Trump’s hospitalization with COVID-19 in October 2020.
Leavitt did commit to ‘releasing all of the results, as many of the results as possible’ from the physical, according to a reporter’s question.
‘Of course, yes, the physician will do that, I spoke with him this morning,’ Leavitt said.
