White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered a slate of questions from reporters on Tuesday during her first press briefing, but she also offered unprompted information from President Trump regarding a mysterious phenomenon that plagued Americans in December 2024: the presence of mysterious drones in New Jersey.
She said she was briefed by the president on this mysterious incident Tuesday morning, and after careful review and research, the drones, according to President Trump, were “authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons.”
Leavitt also added that many of the drones belonged to hobbyists and private individuals. “In time, it got worse,” she said, referring to the sensationalist aspect of the event.
“This was not the enemy,” she said, reading a statement from President Trump.
Leavitt also answered questions about the ongoing deportation operation in the United States that is rapidly removing illegal aliens from American soil. Despite pressure from mainstream outlets in the room, Leavitt remained firm in the administration’s stance that if someone has entered the country in violation of American immigration laws, they are criminals.
“If you enter illegally, you are, by definition, an illegal,” she noted.
Leavitt emphasized that it was the expectation of President Trump for every country “on this planet” to fully cooperate with the repatriation efforts of those people who are being deported from America.
She also answered a repetitive question from the press regarding whether President Trump’s temporary freeze on federal spending would affect individual assistance programs.
“To individuals at home who receive direct assistance from the federal government, you will not be affected by this federal freeze,” she stated.
The pause, she explained, was not permanent, and is simply aimed at allowing DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget to assess where federal funding is being sent and whether that spending is aligned with the president’s agenda.
Other topics were introduced during the briefing, including a question regarding when President Trump will implement his proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Leavitt said the Commander in Chief was firm on February 1 for tariffing.
Leavitt was further asked about the president’s directive to California to allow stored water to flow freely throughout the state in the wake of catastrophic fire devastation amplified by drought-like conditions.
She highlighted the president’s outstanding efforts in applying “tremendous pressure on state and local officials in Pacific Palisades, including Mayor Bass, to turn on the water.”
The president announced on Monday evening that the U.S. military had entered California and, under emergency powers, turned on the water for the people of the state. Leavitt astutely noted that California officials “clearly lack all common sense.”
