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“I COMMIT TO providing the truth at this podium, and I expect the media in this room to do the same,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her first briefing this evening.
Leavitt, a 27-year-old Trump loyalist, became the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary, making her debut in the briefing room this afternoon.
“It’s very easy to speak truth… when you have a president who is implementing policies that are wildly popular with the American people,” Leavitt claimed.
Assertive and at times almost confrontational with the “legacy media” reporters in the White House Press room, Leavitt claimed “there have been lies” about Donald Trump “pushed” by media outlets.
“We will not accept that. We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House,” Leavitt said.
The comments will raise fears that access to White House briefings could be withdrawn for journalists whose coverage reflects badly on the president.
“If you are producing legitimate news content, no matter the medium, you will be allowed (a press pass to briefings)”.
In contrast to previous Trump-appointed White House Press Secretaries, Leavitt seemed well-prepared for the questioning she received from journalists, covering topics from budget to the border.
Starting off with a list of Trump’s first actions while in office, Leavitt praised Trump’s move to increase deportations.
She also had a warning for would-be undocumented migrants: “think again…you will be deported.”
Leavitt praised local law officials and ICE agents carrying out the deportations, adding that the Trump administration has already removed “heinous individuals” who committed violent crimes.
Asked about Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the US constitution, Leavitt said it was the “legal opinion of this administration”.
She said that the new White House believes that the children of illegal immigrants are “not subject to the laws of this jurisdiction”, and therefore are not American.
Defending the deportation of people with no criminal background, Leavitt argued that “if they broke our nation’s laws, they are criminals”.
Leavitt also took swipe at the “legacy media”, saying that trust has fallen to an all-time low.
According to Leavitt, a total of 440 revoked media passes are to be invited back to White House press briefings, while podcasters and social media influencers will – for the first time – be invited.
Seats to her right – traditionally reserved for White House staff – will be given to “new media”.
“Anybody in this country, whether you’re a TikTok content creator, a blogger, a podcaster, if you you producing a legitimate news content, you will be allowed to apply for press credentials for this White House,” Leavitt said.
Echoing Trump’s inauguration speech, Leavitt came down hard on “woke” funding, announcing that there will be no more funding for “illegal DEI programmes”.
Speaking on the pause on federal assistance for certain grants and loans, Leavitt also cited funding to “transgenderism” and “wokeness” across federal agencies.
Asked why non-government organisations were not given more notice before Trump’s decision to cut funding, Leavitt said the move was “incredibly to important to ensure”to show that they are taking into consideration “that the American people are working and their dollars actually matter to this administration”.
Leavitt criticised a now-blocked pledge to send $37m to World Health Organization, and calls a programme “to send condoms to Gaza” a “preposterous waste of taxpayer money”.
This comment is in reference to a USAID programme which involves HIV prevention care.
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