The fun just never ends here in these early days of the Trump 47 era, does it?
President Trump has surrounded himself with some remarkable people in this administration, which is in stark contrast to what happened back in 2017. I know that a lot of people like to blame all of the chaos of his first administration on external factors that were beyond his control, but that's a real stretch. He made some absolutely garbage personnel choices his first time around. It was understandable too — the difference between the upper echelon of the private sector business world and politics is a big one.
Suffice it to say that lessons have been learned.
The team that Trump has assembled thus far is not only deeply invested in his vision for America — something that not many of the Trump 45 people were — they're so focused that they're pretty much immune to any external distractions that the hostile Democrats and their flying monkeys in the mainstream media try to force upon them. This group is simply letting the ridiculous people keep being ridiculous.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt doesn't have that luxury, however. She has to deal with Trump-hating malcontents almost every day. Leavitt has proved from Day One on the job that she can handle it brilliantly.
The background for this story (Sarah has more here) is that the thoroughly leftist Associate Press is stubbornly refusing to go along with the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. There is no sound reason for this, obviously; even lefty loony bin Google has updated its maps. What the AP thinks it will accomplish with this foot-stomping is unclear.
The Trump administration has responded to this insipid tantrum by not allowing AP reporters to be present for media Q&A sessions in the Oval Office, or any other events where the president will be interacting with the media. They're still allowed at the press briefings that Leavitt gives, they just can't bring their nonsense into the same room as the president.
Not surprisingly, this has the leftmedia in a tizzy. CNN uber-hack Kaitlan Collins used her precious time during Wednesday's press briefing to ask Leavitt "which White House official made the decision" regarding AP's access to the president. Leavitt was having none of it. She explained that, "Nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the President of the United States questions. That's an invitation."
When Collins wouldn't let it go and asked if the White House's decision regarding AP was "retaliatory," Leavitt buried her in facts. It was beautiful.
WH Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt fires back at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins:
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 12, 2025
“If outlets in this room push lies, we will hold them accountable.” pic.twitter.com/iJ8nZGlNra
A huge part of the ongoing awfulness of having to deal with the Biden administration for four years was suffering through the two worst female White House press secretaries in history. Robert Gibbs and Jay Carney from the Obama years hold that title on the male side. Jen "Circle Back Girl" Psaki and Karine "TRIPLE HISTORIC" Jean-Pierre were characters out of a dystopian novel about ineptitude. They made Fox News Channel's Peter Doocy a celebrity because he was the only one at the briefings who would ask them honest questions. Or the only one who was allowed to, anyway. They had to call on him because he represents the largest cable news audience. Every time they did, he stumped them and sent them scrambling for cover.
Ms. Leavitt, on the other hand, is ready for anything they throw at her. Press secretaries for Republican presidents can't be DEI flunkies like Psaki and Jean-Pierre because they're walking into a hostile environment every time they give a briefing. Dem press secretaries are always in a briefing room that's mostly filled with friends, some of whom eventually become colleagues. Being the White House press secretary is more of an audition for CNN and MSNBC than a job.
Despite her concerns about retaliation, Kaitlan Collins isn't going anywhere. She and her ilk will be there for every press briefing, working in cahoots to try and blindside Karoline Leavitt.
The always prepared Leavitt will continue to remind the Dem lapdogs in the press pool that she's the cheerful buzzsaw that they might want to be more careful around.
We're always going to be on watch here to call out the fake journos and their attacks on the Trump 47 administration. You can greatly aid our vigilance by joining our magnificent VIP family. We're eternally grateful for all that our VIP subscribers allow us to do. If you would like to be a part of it, you can subscribe here and use the promo code FIGHT to receive a huge 60% discount.
Click the button below to get the Morning Briefing emailed to you every weekday. Have your coffee with me, people. It's free and it supports conservative media!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member