Claim: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Donald Trump will revoke the passport of any Olympic athlete who has criticized him.
Conclusion: The claim is false. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not make any such statement. The attributed quote is fabricated and has no basis in any form — interview or official record by Leavitt or the Trump Administration.
Rating : False — 
Several social media users have claimed that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made a statement about Donald Trump revoking passports. Verified X user ‘dotNoso’ made such a post with a quote attributed to Leavitt having caption: “THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE. Karoline Leavitt: ‘President Trump will revoke the passport of any Olympics athlete who has criticized him.’” View the post below:
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE
Karoline Leavitt: “President Trump will revoke the passport of any Olympics athlete who has criticized him.”
— dot (@dotNoso) February 10, 2026
Other users have shared similar claims which can be seen here and here.
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found that it is false. The statement was never made by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The quote is entirely made up and does not appear in any verified speech, briefing, interview, or official record from Leavitt or the Trump administration.
Details:
We first conducted a web search with the phrase “Donald Trump will revoke the passport of an Olympic athlete” to learn more. We learnt from a report by Guardian that Hunter Hess, a freestyle skier representing the USA in the Winter Olympics 2026 during a press conference said that representing the U.S. brings “mixed emotions” and that it was “a little hard,” because “there’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of.” View a section from the report below:
He clarified that he represents “friends and family… all the things that I believe are good about the U.S.” but “because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US.” Following these remarks, President Trump responded on Truth Social, calling Hess “a real loser” who “shouldn’t have tried out for the Team” and saying it was “very hard to root for someone like this.” Nowhere did Trump say that he will revoke the passport. View the full post here:
Extensive searches and news coverage find no instances of Leavitt saying or implying anything about passport revocation for athletes criticizing Trump.
Trump signs executive order on 2028 Olympic task force in August 2025 which ensures to conduct safe, seamless and historically successful “Olypics 2028.
And as per PBS report published on August 5, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, that Trump “considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle,” calling sports one of the president’s “greatest passions.”
Another executive order signed by Trump “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” in Feb, 2025 , enforces his administration’s view that “sex” refers only to an individual’s gender assigned at birth. This order protects opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports. Trump clearly said: “The United States will not let men steal trophies from women at the 2028 Olympics.”
We learn from another News 3 report that Leavitt “told TNND she hopes Congress will consider legislation to make Trump’s order law.” She further said that “It’s a huge win for female athletes and women and girls across the country who are just asking for a fair shake on that playing field…”
Men do not belong in women’s sports.
We’re dedicated to opposing male participation in women’s sports as a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth.
In support of Executive Order 14201, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, we’ve clarified eligibility for certain visa… pic.twitter.com/lNbs5eep6w
— USCIS (@USCIS) August 4, 2025
Lastly, when we searched whether the U.S. President can revoke someone’s passport, an article by Poynter explained that this cannot be done. As per the article, “there are two ways naturalized U.S. citizens can lose their citizenship. Neither method lets the president revoke citizenship based on political differences.” And, as citizens, they can get a passport.
Thus, Leavitt did not make such a statement nor can the U.S. President revoke somebody’s passport.
Hence, the claim is false.
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