Karoline Leavitt put through her paces when children take over the White House briefing room

The White House press corps looked and sounded a little younger in the press briefing room on Tuesday as journalists and staffers were allowed to show their children where they worked.

The White House hosted the annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. First lady Melania Trump hung out with the kids in the Rose Garden doing patriotic arts and crafts, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt answered an array of questions from her usual podium.

“It is such a pleasure to see so many beautiful faces in this room and so many future leaders,” Ms. Leavitt said.

“It’s great to have you here at the People’s House, and you have some very special parents who perform a very special job,” she said. “We are here to make America great again, and we live in the best country in the history of the world.”

The children sat in the too-big-for-them briefing room seats and asked Ms. Leavitt if President Trump likes to give hugs, what his favorite ice cream and food are, how many people he’s fired and who his favorite soccer player is.

Ms. Leavitt answered the questions as best as she could, sharing that the president likes to hug his family, likes chocolate sauce and toppings on his ice cream, that he likes to eat steak, no one’s been fired at the White House and that she didn’t know about soccer players.

When asked what the most fun part of her job is and what’s the hardest part, Ms. Leavitt said that answering questions applies to both.

“I think the most fun part about my job is doing things like this with all of you in the briefing room and answering so many great questions,” she said. “I think the hardest part of my job is also doing things like this in the briefing room and answering all of these questions.”

Some kids asked more serious questions, like what is the state of the border and what does the president plan to do about climate change.

“The most secure it has ever been in the history of our country,” she said to one child.

“The president cares very much about our environment. He says all the time he wants to have the cleanest air, the cleanest water, the cleanest environment for the world. He also cares very much about our energy independence and ensuring that we can keep the lights on in our homes at a very cheap rate, so we want to make energy here in the United States because we do it cleaner and better than everyone,” she said to the other.

A girl asked what advice Ms. Leavitt would give to girls who want to achieve their dreams.

Ms. Leavitt said to “work as hard as you possibly can and just pursue every opportunity that opens up and is given to you and just work, work, work as hard as you can.”

Another asked how she balances being a mother and being press secretary.

“It is a challenge every day. But it’s also a blessing to have this opportunity and to be a mom,” Ms. Leavitt said. “So, you have to learn how to prioritize your time and lean on your support system.”

Other questions had Ms. Leavitt answering what the president’s McDonald’s order is (hamburgers and fries) and who his favorite president is (she said she thinks he would say George Washington).