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Karoline Leavitt has become one of the White House’s most combative voices, regularly sparring with reporters during press briefings. From sharply pushing back on journalists’ questions to delivering forceful defenses of the Trump administration, Leavitt has generated viral moments. She has also faced intense questioning over sensitive issues, including the Epstein controversy, where her responses drew further scrutiny. Here are five standout moments from her tenure as White House press secretary, showcasing her confrontational style, quick responses and willingness to challenge the press corps.



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00:00Is it the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths
00:04of U.S. service members? Should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the
00:09damage it is doing. If the Iranian regime had their choice, they would kill every single person
00:14in this room for every troop that is based in the Middle East. That's what these...
00:18Secretary Hexf was complaining that it was front page news about these six service members who
00:22were killed. That's not what the secretary said, Caitlin, and that's not what the secretary meant,
00:26and you know it. Who cares more? Tragic things happen. It's front page news. I get it. The press
00:31only wants to make the president look bad. As you know, we cover the deaths of U.S. service members
00:35under every president. The press does only want to make the president look bad, especially you and
00:39especially CNN. And the secretary of defense cares deeply. So please, so please... That's not making
00:45the president look bad. That's showcasing that. We expect you to cover that as you should.
00:52If you're trying to argue right now that CNN's overwhelming coverage is not negative of President
00:58Donald Trump... You just mentioned that the president is going to attend the dignified transfer
01:02for these families. Given what Secretary Hexf said this morning, is it the position of this
01:07administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members?
01:11No. It's the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across
01:16the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage
01:22it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American
01:27in this room. If the Iranian regime had their choice, they would kill every single person
01:31in this room. And so we can all be very grateful that we have an administration and that we have
01:36men and women in our armed forces who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for the rest
01:41of us in this room and for every American across the country and for every troop that is based
01:45in the Middle East. The Secretary Hexf was complaining that it was front page news about these six
01:50service members who were killed. That's not what the secretary said, Caitlin, and that's not what
01:54the secretary meant. And you know it. You know you are being disingenuous. There is not...
01:58We've never had a secretary of defense. Who cares more?
02:01We don't get through or tragic things happen. It's front page news. I get it. The press only wants
02:05to make the president look bad. As you know, we cover the deaths of U.S. service members under
02:09every president. The press does only want to make the president look bad. That's a fact.
02:14No, listen to me. Especially you and especially CNN. And the Secretary of Defense cares deeply
02:21about our warfighters and our men and women in uniform. He travels all across this country
02:25to meet with them, to connect with them, and your network has hardly ever probably reported on that.
02:31You also have the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Chairman Cain, who's a brave patriot standing alongside
02:37the secretary at the Pentagon this morning, again expressing his condolences to these families.
02:42And I just told you that the president of the United States will be attending their dignified
02:46transfer. So please, so please...
02:48That's not making the president look bad. That's showcasing that.
02:51We expect you to cover that as you should. We expect you to cover that as you should,
02:55Caitlin. But you and your network know that you take every single thing this administration says
03:01and tries to use it to make the president look bad. That is an objectable fact.
03:06I don't think covering troop deaths is trying to make the president look bad.
03:09If you're trying to argue right now that CNN's overwhelming coverage is not negative of President
03:13Donald Trump, I think the American people would tend to agree. And your ratings would tend to disagree
03:19with that as well.
03:20Today in his statement about Jesse Jackson, the president said, despite the fact that I'm falsely
03:24and consistently called a racist, by the scoundrels and lunatics on the radical left, Democrats all,
03:29it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way.
03:33Where or when does the president believe he's been falsely called racist?
03:38You're kidding, right? I will pull you plethora of examples. I'm going to get my team in that room
03:45to start going through the internet of radical Democrats throughout the years, Ed, who have
03:51accused this president falsely of being a racist. And I'm sure there's many people in this room and
03:56on network television across the country who have accused him of the same. In fact, I know that because
04:00I've seen it with my own eyes. And the president very much looks forward to having a event later this
04:06afternoon at 3 p.m. to celebrate Black History Month and to talk about how his policies are
04:11advancing opportunity and prosperity for all Americans through record tax cuts through the
04:18Trump accounts that all Americans can access regardless of race. These are a great thing
04:23for the next generation of Americans. The president has also awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in
04:28additional funding to strengthen educational outcomes at historically black colleges and universities
04:33across the country. Again, the president is protecting the hard-earned benefits of the 2.4
04:39million black veterans who honorably served in our nation's armed forces by reducing the black
04:43backlog of veterans, waiting for their VA benefits and for their home loans through the veteran
04:50Department of Veterans Affairs. So there is a lot this president has done for all Americans,
04:55regardless of race. And he has absolutely been falsely called and smeared as a racist. And I'm happy to
05:01provide you those receipts. And we gladly will, right after this briefing.
05:05Yesterday in his statement about Jesse Jackson, the president said,
05:07Despite the fact that I'm falsely and consistently called a racist, by the scoundrels and lunatics on
05:12the radical left, Democrats all, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way.
05:18Where or when does the president believe he's been falsely called racist?
05:23You're kidding, right?
05:25I will pull you plethora of examples. I'm going to get my team in that room to start
05:31going through the internet of radical Democrats throughout the years, Ed, who have accused this
05:36president falsely of being a racist. And I'm sure there's many people in this room and on network
05:41television across the country who have accused him of the same. In fact, I know that because I've
05:45seen it with my own eyes. And the president very much looks forward to having a event later this
05:51afternoon at 3 p.m. to celebrate Black History Month and to talk about how his policies are
05:56advancing opportunity and prosperity for all Americans through record tax cuts through the
06:03Trump accounts that all Americans can access regardless of race. These are a great thing
06:07for the next generation of Americans. The president has also awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in
06:13additional funding. According to newly released files, the president had a conversation with the
06:19Palm Beach police chief in the early 2000s according to the police chief in 2019. The president had
06:26gone on record before and he's told reporters that he said that Jeffrey Epstein had no idea about
06:31Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. During this conversation with the police chief, however, he did say,
06:38according to this recounting of it, that thank goodness you're stopping him. He also called
06:43Ghislaine Maxwell evil. My two questions are, did that conversation with the Palm Beach police chief,
06:49happened? And can you explain the discrepancy? What I will say is that the president has always
06:55remained consistent and that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club at Mar-a-Lago because
07:00frankly, Jeffrey Epstein was a creep. And unlike many other people who are named in these files,
07:05President Trump cut off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and was honest and transparent about that
07:10for years and years. And so I think what the president has said all along has always remained true.
07:15And the release of more than three million documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous,
07:21disgusting crimes just shows the level of transparency that this president and administration
07:25has committed to, uh, and, and bringing, uh, these files to light. But did he call the chief
07:30in 2006? Carolyn, did he call the chief? Look, it was a phone call that may or may not have
07:36happened in
07:362006. I don't know the answer to that question. What I'm telling you is that what President Trump has
07:41always said is that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club because Jeffrey Epstein was
07:46a creep. Uh, and that remains true. And this call, if it did happen, corroborates exactly what President
07:52Trump has said from the beginning. And I'm sure many of you, when you read that, that alleged FBI
07:57report probably thought to yourself, wow, this really cracks our narrative that we've been trying to push
08:02about this president for many years. So, uh, we're moving on from that.
08:06Republicans and Democrats alike have been expressing some concern about the frequency
08:11of which senior Trump officials have been using this signal app. Has there been discussion or
08:16will there be a review about how often they use signal? And, and if you could explain to us
08:21how they might be considering other applications to get away from something like this happening again?
08:28Sure. Well, again, first of all, signal has been an approved app for government use. It's an
08:33encrypted app app. And as I said, it's the most safe and efficient way of communicating, especially
08:39when people can't be in a skiff or inside a room physically together. I think as the president said
08:44yesterday, he wishes that everybody could be in the room and it's our goal to ensure that everybody
08:50can be. But again, no classified information was discussed in this chat and anytime classified
08:55information is discussed amongst high level officials across this administration, secure lines of
09:01communication are used, including, uh, by the way, uh, our special envoy, uh, Steve Whitcoff,
09:06who I understand the wall street journal erroneously reported, um, that he was on this signal chat on
09:11a personal device while in Moscow. That is absolutely false. Uh, Steve Whitcoff did not have his personal
09:17device, nor did he have his government device with him. He was given a classified protected server by
09:23the United States government. Uh, and he was very careful about his communications when he was in Russia.
09:28So rest assured to the American public, this administration is taking every precaution, uh,
09:33when it comes to protecting our national security. And that's why the American people reelected this
09:38president because they know that our national security is in good hands with the president of
09:42the United States. Speaking of the vice president, I understand he's going to be speaking, uh, any moment
09:47now. I would hate to counter program the vice president of the United States. You'll also hear from the
09:51president at three o'clock. He will be honoring women's history at the women's history month celebration.
09:56We have a lot of great women across our cabinet, uh, who, who will be in attendance. So we'll see
10:00you all there. And then you'll also hear from the president again at four o'clock when he talks about
10:04tariffs. So plenty of time for more questions. Sorry. It's a bit shorter today, guys. We'll see you later.
10:09You can ask it. You can ask it.
10:12She wants to know if Donald Trump likes to give hugs.
10:14Oh, does he like to give hugs? You know, I think he does. I have seen him give
10:19many hugs to children and his family and our beautiful first lady. So yes, I do think he likes
10:25to give hugs. You're welcome. Emily, would you like to ask a question?
10:31Yes. Um, what is the funnest part about your job and the hardest part about your job? Wow.
10:39Well, that is definitely a very good question. I think the most fun part about my job is doing
10:46things like this with all of you in the briefing room and answering so many great questions. I think
10:51the hardest part of my job is also doing things like this in the briefing room and answering all of
10:56these questions. And reading the news is a big part of my job every day. I wake up and read
11:02the
11:02newspaper and watch the news and listen to all of the things that your parents are reporting on in
11:08the news. And that's a big part of my job every day. Frankie, go ahead.
11:16What is President Trump's favorite food? Well, President Trump loves a lot of different foods,
11:22but I think his favorite is probably steak. I've had steak with him on many occasions and he likes to
11:29eat a big, beautiful steak. Do you like steak, Frankie? Yes? Okay. Jack, nice to see you. I like your
11:40hat.
11:41You're welcome. Would you like to ask a question? What's the state of a border? What's the state of the
11:46border?
11:47I can assure you the border is the most secure it has ever been in the history of our country.
11:52And I think your dad works for the Homeland Security Council. So that's a very apropos
11:58question. And your dad's doing a great job securing the border. Hazel Jane, what a beautiful name.
12:04Would you like to ask a question? Okay. Actually, can you come back to me? Sure.
12:11I can come back to you. I'd be happy to. Bobby Lynn?
12:17How many people has he fired?
12:23How many people has he fired?
12:29Thus far, actually, we have not had anyone fired with the exception of one individual who did leave
12:37their job. But we have a great team here so far. So good.
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