During her first briefing on Tuesday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the creation of a dedicated seating section for “new media” journalists and said the Trump administration will restore the press credentials of 440 individuals that were “wrongly revoked by the previous administration.”
“The Trump White House will speak to all media outlets and personalities, not just the legacy media who are seated in this room,” she said. “It’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt this White House to the new media landscape in 2025.”
Leavitt gave her first question to Mike Allen, the co-founder of the digital media company Axios, followed by Matthew Boyle, Washington bureau chief for the Breitbart News Network.
“It is a fact that Americans are consuming their news media from various different platforms, especially young people,” Leavitt said. “And as the youngest press secretary in history, thanks to President Trump, I take great pride in opening up this room to new media voices to share the president’s message with as many Americans as possible.”
She said the White House will welcome applications for press credentials from nontraditional journalists, including creators on social media platforms like TikTok, podcasters and bloggers who are “producing legitimate news content.”
After beginning the briefing with pleasantries, telling a packed room of assembled journalists that “it’s an honor to be here with all of you,” Leavitt leveled several criticisms of the media and tussled with multiple correspondents. In doing so, Leavitt harked back to the combative dynamic that was ever-present during the first Trump administration, when press secretaries Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders clashed regularly with journalists.
Associated Press journalist Zeke Miller asked whether she saw her role as purely an advocate for the president or whether she would provide “the unvarnished truth.”
“I commit to telling the truth from this podium every single day,” Leavitt said.
“While I’ve vowed to provide the truth from this podium, we ask that all of you in this room hold yourselves to that same standard,” she added. “We know for a fact that 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. We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House.”
Leavitt pushed back at Peter Alexander, the chief White House correspondent for NBC News, after he asked about some of the Trump administration’s early actions regarding deportations and a decision by the White House to pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government. “You’re asking a hypothetical based on programs you can’t even identify?” she responded, even after Alexander had identified a specific program that provides heating for low-income residents.
When asked how frequent her press briefings would be, Leavitt said the administration’s best spokesperson is the president himself. “I can you assure that you will be hearing from both him and from me as much as possible,” she said.
Observers, including White House correspondents, were eager to see what approach Leavitt, 27, would take to engaging with the media. Leavitt, who served as an intern during Trump’s first administration, served as a public-facing spokesperson for the Trump campaign last year, making her a logical choice to serve as press secretary as someone who was already familiar to the journalists who have covered the president.
(c) 2025, The Washington Post · Jeremy Barr
I had replied to what someone else had expressed, dismay at
Karoline Leavitt wearing a very prominent gold cross, as she
spoke to the press for the first time. My reply was that she
could not be asked not to wear it when speaking in public, as
that would lead to asking Orthodox Jewish men speakers not
to wear their Yarmulkeh (head cap) when speaking in public.
Pope Francis wears a white Yarmulkeh, white Kittel (robe),
and gold cross, I guess, to satify everyone (Ha-ha !)
There’s nothing wrong with it. No one is telling us to bow down.
?
Have you noticed how these gold crosses have been popping up lately on the necks of goyim? They’re more becoming more G-dly and believe in the G-d of the world.
Hachzakas mikomos.