The role of White House reporters is to seek answers, while that of press secretaries is to provide them, but Karoline Leavitt challenged a journalist amidst the intense scrutiny following the tragic death of Renee Good at the hands of ICE in Minneapolis.
Niall Stanage, a journalist from The Hill, raised a question regarding the administration’s assertion that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are handling situations ‘correctly’ following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Good on January 7.
The reporter referenced the 32 deaths in ICE detention since the Trump administration took office last year and questioned the accuracy of the administration’s claims in light of these figures and Good’s shooting.
Rather than providing a direct response, 28-year-old Leavitt posed a question to Stanage, asking for his personal take on the issue: “Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?”
Stanage, caught off guard by the confrontational question, replied: “Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably.”
Leavitt swiftly criticized the reporter, retorting: “OK, so you’re a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion.”
She labeled him a ‘hack’ for challenging the administration about the death of a US citizen by federal immigration officers and questioned his journalistic integrity.
“You’re not a reporter, posing in this room as a journalist,” Leavitt stated. “And it’s so clear by the premise of your question. And you and the people of the media who have such biases but fake like you’re a journalist, you shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat.”
This incident comes after a year of criticism directed at traditional media outlets by the White House, which has increasingly favored voices aligned with the MAGA movement and provided greater access to social media influencers and content creators at the White House and Pentagon.
As a result, Stanage was labeled a ‘left-wing activist’ for his inquiry into Good’s death, with Leavitt directing him on the topics he should be covering.
Rather than focusing on the shooting of the mother-of-three, she suggested the ‘hack’ should report on American residents killed by ‘illegal’ migrants.
Leavitt continued her criticism: “The question that you just raised and your answer proves you’re biased. You should be reporting on the facts. You should be reporting on the cases…
“I bet you never even read about Laken Riley or Jocelyn Nungaray or all of the innocent Americans who were killed at the hand of illegal aliens in this country and the brave men and women of ICE are doing everything in their power to remove those heinous individuals and make our communities safer.
“And shame on people like you in the media who have a crooked view and have a biased view and pretend like you’re a real, honest journalist.”
Leavitt didn’t limit her criticism to Stanage, extending it to the broader press pool present for the briefing.
“Shame on you people in the media who have a crooked view, a biased view, and pretend you’re an honest journalist,” she asserted.