Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ripped the performative nature of the press corps, calling out D.C. journalists as camera-hungry phonies who secretly apologize off-air for the nasty hit pieces their bosses force them to churn out.
Leavitt’s comments come right on the heels of President Donald Trump targeting three top mainstream outlets, barring them from the Brady Briefing Room in his battle against “fake news.”
Appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity on Tuesday, Leavitt — who stepped down from her post as press secretary last month — pulled back the curtain on the West Wing press pool, admitting there is a huge “performative aspect” to the daily briefing room circus. While reporters ham it up for their nightly news soundbites, Leavitt revealed that many privately admit they are just puppets on a string pulled by corporate bosses.
“They have to do that because their bosses are demanding it,” Leavitt said. “There’s been times reporters have even said to me, ‘I’m sorry I had to ask that today. You know, my bosses really wanted me to ask that.’ They know it’s an unfair question, but they’re not in control of their own livelihood. They are dictated by the editors and the execs at some of these companies.”
Over the weekend, the Trump administration officially yanked the press passes for journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
The lockout began Saturday morning at the White House gates, where guards turned away MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner and a photographer, confiscating Gardner’s hard pass and informing her the order came straight from “above.” CNN correspondent Betsy Klein met the same fate just an hour later.
The dramatic crackdown followed a fiery Truth Social manifesto posted last Friday by President Trump, who declared that the three outlets were officially banned for constantly churning out “FICTION and LIES.” Trump didn’t mince words: “I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here.” He also hinted that leftist outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post could be next.
Trump took aim at Politico, railing against an “illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription” scheme funded by taxpayers under the Biden administration. Leavitt had previously targeted those massive USAID-funded subscriptions back in early 2025 alongside Elon Musk’s DOGE team.
CNN and MS NOW immediately labeled the action an unconstitutional assault on press freedom. The ban sets up a First Amendment showdown, echoing a 1977 federal appeals decision and a 2018 court battle over CNN reporter Jim Acosta that barred the White House from stripping credentials based on coverage. The administration is also at odds with the Associated Press, which was kicked off Air Force One after refusing to adopt the administration’s new “Gulf of America” instructions.
Trump’s move also sparked a response from Fox News, which joined four other networks in agreeing to suspend the presidential television pool in response to the media ban.
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