‘What A Stupid Question’: Leavitt Clobbers Reporter Asking If Prez Supports Peaceful Protests

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt concisely dismissed a reporter on Wednesday when she was asked if the president supports the right to peaceful protest.

The moment came during a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday. Asked to clarify what kind of protest President Donald Trump “would find acceptable,” Leavitt drew the line at violence.

“The president absolutely supports peaceful protests. He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard,” said Leavitt.

“He does not support violence of any kind. He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their job. It’s very clear for the president what he supports and what he does not,” she continued. “Unfortunately for Democrats, that line has not been made clear, and they’ve allowed this unrest and this violence to continue, and the president has had to step in.”

Asked if the president would support peaceful protesting during the military parade scheduled for Saturday, Leavitt dismissed the question.

“Of course, the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question,” she said before moving on to the next reporter.

Q: So if there were peaceful protests on Saturday for the military parade the president would allow that?

.@PressSec Karoline Leavitt: "Of course the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question." pic.twitter.com/QzjOIVoUlJ

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 11, 2025

On Tuesday, Trump said in remarks from the Oval Office that protesters during the parade to honor the United States’ 250th birthday would be met with “great force.” He made the threat after detailing the violence and riots that have broken out in Los Angeles in recent days, and praising military personnel and law enforcement that have stepped up to restore law and order to the area.

“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” said Trump. “And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”

The president also said that money is behind some of the violence going on in Los Angeles. Trump said that some of the demonstrators “are paid insurrectionists. These are paid troublemakers.”