The Federalist is pushing back hard against New York magazine writer Sarah Jones, labeling her a “mean girl” for what it calls a dismissive and condescending take on conservative women who prioritize motherhood over career.
In a piece published Monday, The Federalist takes aim at Jones’s August 29 article “The Right’s Woman Problem,” in which she criticizes figures including Phyllis Schlafly, Jennifer Hegseth, Natalie Harp, and Katie Miller, characterizing them as “reactionary young mothers” who “will always have some value to the right.” But the brunt of Jones’s criticism, according to The Federalist, is reserved for former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who left her post to spend more time with her toddler and newborn.
Jones wrote that for women in the White House, “power still comes with a tradeoff,” and that their roles hinge not only on competence or loyalty to Trump but on “compliant femininity.” She further argued that conservatives treat women as “pre-rational creatures controlled by their wombs” and that right-wing women gain professional traction “by defending her own subordination.”
A ‘Disconnected’ View of Motherhood
The Federalist disputes that framing, arguing that the real “woman problem” on the right is that many conservative women have bought into the feminist idea that they can “have it all” when, in its view, they would be happier focusing on family. The outlet cites a 2015 Gallup poll showing that 56 percent of mothers with children under 18 would prefer to be full-time homemakers rather than full-time employees. Among childless women, that figure dropped to 39 percent.
“Having children under the age of 18 is a key factor in whether women would prefer to be employed or stay home, while their current employment status matters relatively little,” Gallup found at the time.
The Federalist also notes that a significant number of working moms with young children have voluntarily left the workforce in recent years, contradicting the implication that women prefer careers over caregiving.
Leavitt’s Choice Praised
The outlet defends Leavitt’s decision to step down as press secretary, saying she recognized that “a spitfire press secretary is replaceable, Nicholas and Viviana Leavitt’s mama is not.” It argues that understanding such prioritization requires more effort than Jones’s “girl boss” lens allows.
The Federalist takes particular umbrage with Jones’s concluding claim that a woman who “believes she can’t have anything because she can’t have it all” might view “a little authority” as preferable to “complete dispossession,” and that she “walks into a trap, locks it shut, and tells her sisters and daughters to do exactly the same.”
That characterization, The Federalist argues, is “demeaning” and “detached from reality.” It says if anything traps women, it’s a full-time job at a company that would rather pay for abortions than provide maternity leave, and that conservative organizations like The Federalist offer flexibility for mothers to be present with their families while exercising their talents.
“If anyone reduces women to their usefulness instead of their worthiness and sanctity as a female human, it’s Jones, who spends her time bullying women like Leavitt for making the best choice they can for their future,” the piece concludes.
Source: thefederalist.com — https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/31/corporate-media-mean-girls-know-nothing-about-women-and-it-shows/