In her first official briefing on Tuesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt went head to head with the press core and specifically called out the legacy media for past lies about Trump and his family.
When Zeke Miller of The Associated Press asked whether she viewed the role of press secretary as a truth-teller or an advocate for President Trump, Leavitt responded that she speaks for the President but is also committed to telling the truth.
“I commit to telling the truth from this podium every single day,” Leavitt said. “I commit to speaking on behalf of the President of the United States. That is my job.”
Leavitt continued by pointing out the strong political mandate for President Trump to fulfill his agenda following the 2024 election.
“It’s very easy to speak truth from this podium when you have a President who is implementing policies that are wildly popular with the American people.”
She then challenged the press to hold themselves to the same standard regarding coverage of President Trump. Critics of the legacy media have pointed out the false narratives that American voters repudiated in the 2024 election.
“Since you brought up truth… I would like to point out while I vow to provide the truth from this podium, we ask that all of you in this room hold yourselves to that same standard,” Leavitt said. “We know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this President, about his family, and we will not accept that.”
She promised to hold the legacy media accountable when stories about the Trump administration are not reported accurately.
“We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House, so, yes, I will hold myself to the truth and I expect everyone else in this room to do the same,” Leavitt said.