White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday highlighted President Donald Trump’s willingness to cross the political aisle as the government shutdown drags on.
Five minutes before the briefing, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that after a conversation with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, he decided to hold off on deploying the National Guard to the city, citing Lurie’s request to tackle crime in the city without federal aid. Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked Leavitt if this was “what the President hopes for in every city?”
“The President is willing to work with anyone across the aisle, across the country to do the right thing and clean up American cities,” Leavitt said. “He is genuinely interested in this effort to make our streets safer, our cities safe and clean again.”
Olohan also asked Leavitt about the “No Kings” protesters who threatened government officials, including Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
“I would think myself, the President, and everyone else at the White House would hope anyone making violent threats against public officials will be arrested and prosecuted,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt also warned of mounting consequences of the government shutdown, which just hit its 23rd day with no end in sight. The press secretary said that half a million federal employees would miss their next paycheck tomorrow and noted that $4 billion in capital was withheld from small businesses while warning of lapses in SNAP funding and strain on air traffic controllers.
“If the Democrats continue to keep the government closed, we fear there will be significant delays and disruption for airlines this holiday season,” Leavitt said before reading quotes from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark boasting the shutdown gave Democrats “leverage.”
But neither crime nor the shutdown dominated the question and answer portion of Thursday’s briefing. That honor went to President Trump’s White House renovations.
“Is it a big story?” Leavitt asked sarcastically after the first question on the ballroom.
The reporter responded, “It seems that way.”
Leavitt confirmed the president would release an exact figure detailing how much of his own funding he was giving to the White House. It’s estimated that the ballroom will cost $300 million dollars. President Trump has stated that it will be funded privately and the full list of donors has been released.
Of the 30 questions reporters asked, 11 were about the ballroom.
Leavitt stated that Trump has been incredibly transparent and showed reporters models in the Oval Office, noting how she had already given remarks to the press exclusively about the ballroom.
By the end of the press conference there had been so many inquiries about the ballroom that Fox News’s Aisha Hashmi started her line of questioning with, “Thanks Karoline. Two questions not on the ballroom.”
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