White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sparred with NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor during Thursday&#8217;s briefing after Alcindor claimed that President Donald Trump had presented an &#8220;unsubstantiated&#8221; video of crosses marking the graves of white farmers in South Africa.
Alcindor repeated several times that the video was &#8220;unsubstantiated&#8221; and &#8220;not true&#8221; before asking what the process was for vetting such videos before showing them to world leaders like Trump did during an Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Leavitt, who was having none of it, fired back immediately.
WATCH:
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> nukes Fake News <a href="https://twitter.com/Yamiche?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Yamiche</a> for LYING about the burial ground of white farmers killed in South Africa <a href="https://t.co/BhCTGumnoz">pic.twitter.com/BhCTGumnoz</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1925606797441671315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The president showed a video that he said showed more than 1,000 burial sites of white South Africans that he said were murdered. We know that that was not true and that the video wasn&#8217;t true, and so I wonder, why did the president choose to show that —&#8221; Alcindor said.
&#8220;What&#8217;s not true, Yamiche?&#8221; Leavitt interrupted.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not true that the video was showing a burial site. It is unsubstantiated that&#8217;s the case —&#8221; Alcindor continued.
&#8220;No, it&#8217;s — it is true that that video showed the crosses that represent —&#8221; Leavitt pushed back.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not the burial site and that&#8217;s what the president claimed —&#8221; Alcindor tried again.
&#8220;The video showed images of crosses in South Africa about white farmers who have been killed and politically persecuted because of the color of their skin, and those crosses are representing their lives and the fact that they are now dead and their government did nothing about it,&#8221; Leavitt said as Alcindor continued to try to talk over her.
&#8220;Are you disputing that there&#8217;s no —&#8221; Leavitt pressed.
&#8220;I&#8217;m disputing the fact that the video showed what the president claimed it showed, because it did not show that,&#8221; Alcindor insisted. &#8220;But even more, who at the White House is responsible for —&#8221;
&#8220;It did show that, it showed white crosses representing people who have perished because of racial persecution,&#8221; Leavitt continued.
&#8220;— verifying the videos that the president shows, and what protocols are in place when there&#8217;s unsubstantiated information being put out for the world leaders —&#8221; Alcindor tried one more time.
&#8220;Yamiche, what&#8217;s unsubstantiated about the video?&#8221; Leavitt asked again — and then she noted that The Associated Press had also shared a photo of the same memorial, along with a caption that read, &#8220;A view of crosses planted at the White Cross Monument, each one marking a white farmer who has been killed in a farm murder, is seen on a hillside in Ysterberg near Polokwane, South Africa.&#8221;
&#8220;So it is substantiated, not just by that video and the physical evidence that everybody saw on display in the Oval Office, but also by another outlet in this room, The Associated Press, so you should take it up with them if you believe the claim is unsubstantiated.&#8221;
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FYI: <a href="https://twitter.com/Yamiche?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Yamiche</a> — this is from the <a href="https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AP</a> <a href="https://t.co/UfzMhbUuDK">pic.twitter.com/UfzMhbUuDK</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1925605871842660506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt

Karoline Leavitt Spars With NBC Reporter In Briefing Room Spat Over White South African Murders

Karoline Leavitt

Media

NBC News

Politics

White House

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a statement of &#8220;outrage&#8221; from President Donald Trump during Thursday&#8217;s press briefing, responding to the terror attack that had left two Israeli embassy staffers dead just hours earlier.
Elias Rodriguez, the suspect in the shooting deaths of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, allegedly chanted &#8220;Free, free Palestine&#8221; while he was being arrested — and Leavitt shared the president&#8217;s thoughts on the tragic situation.
WATCH:
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> on the brutal murder of two <a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelinUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsraelinUSA</a> staffers in Washington, D.C.: &#8220;The evil of anti-Semitism must be eradicated from our society &#8230; Everyone here at the White House is praying for the victims&#8217; friends and family during this unimaginable time.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/OzFX4U9wQB">pic.twitter.com/OzFX4U9wQB</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1925602636713082919?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;President Trump is saddened and outraged over the brutal murder of two Israeli Embassy staff here in Washington, D.C., last night,&#8221; Leavitt began. &#8220;Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were a beautiful young couple. In fact, we learned that Yaron was planing to propose to Sarah next week in Jerusalem.&#8221;
&#8220;Yaron&#8217;s father Daniel spoke about the young couple&#8217;s devotion for one another this morning,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;He said, &#8216;They were in love, one for the other.&#8217; The Embassy told us they were like star couple at the Embassy. &#8216;I never expected something like this. He had his whole life before him.'&#8221;
&#8220;These words, especially every parent knows, are heart-wrenching,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;The evil of antisemitism must be eradicated from our society &#8230; Everyone here at the White House is praying for the victims&#8217; friends and family during this unimaginable time.&#8221;
Leavitt also stated that she&#8217;d spoken to Attorney General Pam Bondi about the investigation earlier in the day, and that Bondi had promised that the perpetrator of the horrific crime would be prosecuted &#8220;to the fullest extent of the law.&#8221;

White House Issues Statement Of ‘Outrage’ After Terror Attack On Israeli Embassy Staffers

White House Issues Statement Of 'Outrage' After Terror Attack On Israeli Embassy Staffers

Crime

Donald Trump

Jewish

Republicans in Congress must come together and pass President Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;one big, beautiful bill&#8221; to deliver the &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; agenda endorsed by voters, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.
During a White House press briefing, Leavitt put lawmakers on notice as some of the GOP rank-and-file continue to quibble about spending cuts and certain provisions in the legislation, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill-clears-hurdle-in-second-attempt-of-key-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advanced</a> out of the House Budget Committee late Sunday night and could reach a final vote in the lower chamber within the next week. With a slim House majority and near-certain Democrat opposition, Republicans can likely afford only a few defectors to send the bill to the Senate.
&#8220;The &#8216;one big, beautiful bill&#8217; is perfectly named, because it represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver on the &#8216;Make America Great Again&#8217; agenda responsible for President Trump’s landslide victory on November 5th. The &#8216;America First&#8217; policies in this bill are the reason why Republicans currently have the majority in Congress right now,&#8221; Leavitt said.
&#8220;Passing this bill is what voters sent Republicans to Washington to accomplish,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;And that’s why it is essential that every Republican in the House and Senate unites behind President Trump and passes this popular and essential legislative package.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The One Big, Beautiful Bill is perfectly named because it represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver on the Make America Great Again Agenda responsible for President Trump’s landslide victory on November 5th.
The MAGA policies in this bill, like the largest tax… <a href="https://t.co/TK3xwWUWBB">pic.twitter.com/TK3xwWUWBB</a>
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1924481626433585608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The bill is processing through Congress via the reconciliation process, aiming to provide funding for Trump’s domestic priorities, retain the 2017 tax cuts, raise the debt limit, and more.
One claim Democrats have made against the legislation is that it benefits the wealthy, but if they &#8220;get their way&#8221; and the 2017 tax cuts are not extended through the bill, Americans will face the &#8220;largest tax hike in history to the tune of $4 trillion,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;Republicans must not side with Democrats in helping them raise taxes.&#8221;
The bill actually gives Americans the biggest tax cuts in U.S. history, Leavitt argued. Key areas she highlighted included eliminating taxes on tips for service workers, removing taxes on overtime pay for essential workers such as police and nurses, and offering a significant tax deduction for interest payments on loans for American-made cars.
Leavitt said the bill boosts the Child Tax Credit to $2,500 per child, establishes optional $1,000 savings accounts for newborns, fortifies paid family leave, provides tax relief for middle- and low-income Social Security recipients by allowing an additional $4,000 deduction on payments from their taxable income, and permits Americans earning between $30,000 and $80,000 to pay around 15% less in taxes. Leavitt noted there is a new White House Council of Economic Advisers study projecting families with two children will see their take-home pay rise up to $13,000 because of increased wages and reduced tax obligations, plus the average overtime worker receives a tax cut of roughly $2,000, if the legislation passes.
&#8220;This bill will be the single most pro-small business, pro-family, and pro-American worker legislation ever,&#8221; Leavitt said.
Another major attack line from the Democrats is that the legislation forces millions to lose health care coverage, under Medicaid in particular. However, according to Leavitt, the bill reforms Medicaid by eliminating coverage for &#8220;barbaric gender mutilation procedures on minor children&#8221; and removing 1.4 million undocumented immigrants from the program, a move that would &#8220;preserve it for hardworking American citizens.&#8221;
Leavitt further contended that the bill strengthens border security beyond what Trump has done himself through executive actions, funding the completion of the border wall, hiring thousands of new ICE and Border Patrol agents, and providing $10,000 bonuses to existing agents over four years. It also helps Trump fulfill his &#8220;promise to carry out the largest mass deportation in the history of our country,&#8221; she said. Leavitt said the bill enhances national defense through resources for a modernized military, including the construction of the &#8220;Golden Dome&#8221; defense system. And Leavitt stressed that the bill modernizes the nation’s air traffic control system to reduce delays and enhance safety, addressing long-standing bipartisan concerns.
&#8220;It is absolutely essential that Republicans unite behind the One Big Beautiful Bill and deliver on President Trump’s agenda. There is no time to waste,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;Americans gave Republicans a once in a generation opportunity to course correct our country over many wrongs over the past four years — and Americans are counting on Republicans to work as hard as President Trump is in this White House every day on Capitol Hill. Send this legislation to his desk as soon as possible for his signature.&#8221;

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

Passing Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ Is GOP’s Duty To Voters, White House Says

Congress

Republicans

Spending Bill

Taxes

U.S. House of Representatives

WASHINGTON — Karoline Leavitt is up at 5 a.m. every day. She&#8217;s reading the news immediately, catching up with whatever President Donald Trump may have &#8220;Truthed&#8221; during the wee hours of the night, equipping herself to take on the reporters of the United States (and beyond) in the day ahead. She&#8217;ll get a workout in if she can. And if her son Niko wakes up in time, she gets to spend time with her little guy before she heads to the White House.
&#8220;I do really try to prioritize returning home for bedtime,&#8221; she shared in an interview with The Daily Wire. &#8220;I savor that time — eating dinner together, doing tubby, doing book time, and then putting him down every night is a priority for me.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s actually advice I was given by my predecessor Sarah Sanders, who encouraged me to set that boundary. Of course it&#8217;s not possible every night,&#8221; she added. &#8220;There are national security crises, real challenges that we are working on solving every day, and so when duty calls I remain, but I do prioritize my job as a mother above anything and try to make it home.&#8221;
Leavitt is tackling a challenge that many women might shy away from: she&#8217;s press secretary in an explosively fasted-paced administration and the right-hand woman to one of the most charismatic and relentless presidents the United States has ever seen. Her job would present a unique challenge for anyone, let alone a young mother who gave birth to her first son less than a year ago. And then there&#8217;s the fact that fewer people realize: Leavitt was back on television from her home studio about four days after Niko&#8217;s birth.
<div id="attachment_918597" style="width: 440px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/on-being-a-mom-at-the-white-house/screenshot-2025-05-10-at-12-53-49-pm" rel="attachment wp-att-918597"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-918597" class="wp-image-918597 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-10-at-12.53.49%E2%80%AFPM-430x576.png" alt="" width="430" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-10-at-12.53.49%E2%80%AFPM-430x576.png 430w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-10-at-12.53.49%E2%80%AFPM-224x300.png 224w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-10-at-12.53.49%E2%80%AFPM-768x1028.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-10-at-12.53.49%E2%80%AFPM.png 1076w" sizes="(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px" /></a>Karoline Leavitt and her son Niko at the zoo.</div>
Chief of staff Susie Wiles had encouraged her to take all the time she needed — and that was Leavitt&#8217;s original plan. But on that chilling day in Butler, Pennsylvania, an attempted assassin took aim at Donald Trump, firing a bullet that came within mere inches of taking the president&#8217;s life. Recognizing the gravity of the moment, and inspired by her boss&#8217; resilience, Leavitt got back to work and helped deliver another Donald Trump presidency.
She&#8217;ll remind you that she&#8217;s not the only working parent in the Trump administration, pointing to both mothers and fathers who are juggling families of their own. There&#8217;s White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and his wife Katie Miller, a DOGE senior advisor, who are parents to three children. Alex Pfeiffer, principal deputy communications director and deputy assistant to the president, has two young children at home, director of media affairs Sonny Nelson has a one-year-old son, deputy chief of staff James Blair is father to three, and Nick Luna and Beau Harrison are each fathers as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Four years of wedded bliss, three perfect angels. Happy Mother’s Day to <a href="https://twitter.com/katierosemiller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katierosemiller</a>, the extraordinary woman at the center of our lives who fills our hearts with sunshine every day. <a href="https://t.co/iyPrNyWGvx">pic.twitter.com/iyPrNyWGvx</a>
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenM/status/1789730381979082956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;It&#8217;s a truly family friendly environment here at the White House and it&#8217;s a testament to the president and the chief of staff as well,&#8221; she shared.
Multiple Trump administration mothers who spoke with The Daily Wire echoed this same thought. These women are realistic about the pressures of their high profile jobs and the time commitment that naturally will arise from working in the administration. Yet at the same time, they say that their teams are supportive when they need to get their children to the dentist or get home in time for bath time.
&#8220;They are so incredibly understanding about mothers&#8217; schedules, making it home on time for family time,&#8221; shared Joanna Wischer, deputy director of the Made in America office in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and mother to a one-year-old named Donovan. &#8220;The culture of the Trump administration is to make it so that we get as much done as possible in a reasonable timeframe and then be able to balance life with being able to see our kids, spend time with the family.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_918631" style="width: 442px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/on-being-a-mom-at-the-white-house/img_2604" rel="attachment wp-att-918631"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-918631" class="wp-image-918631 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_2604-432x576.jpeg" alt="Joanna Wischer and her husband Greg and baby Donovan. " width="432" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_2604-432x576.jpeg 432w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_2604-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_2604-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_2604-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_2604-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_2604-scaled.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /></a>Joanna Wischer and her husband Greg and baby Donovan.</div>
That&#8217;s a vision that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles promotes, as Leavitt said during an interview with Dana Perino earlier this year: &#8220;She has made comments how we jam a lot in the day because there are so many parents in the West Wing who need to get home for bed time.&#8221; Wiles didn&#8217;t respond to a request for comment for this story.
&#8220;It&#8217;s never easy, but it&#8217;s worth it,&#8221; added Rachel Cauley, who is also mother to a one-year-old and serves as OMB&#8217;s communications director. Cauley discussed how becoming a mother impacted how she views the work before her, particularly how she looks at the policies and the way they are messaged. &#8220;It makes you believe it even more and fight even harder. &#8230; I&#8217;m doing it now all because of my son Luke.&#8221;
Leavitt reflected on this part of the job as well.
&#8220;He is truly working to make a safer and more prosperous country for our children,&#8221; she said of the president, &#8220;and as a mother, there is nothing you want more for your child than for them to be safe. The policies President Trump is implementing every day are making our country safer and that&#8217;s why I&#8217;m so proud to work for him.&#8221;
Kara Frederick, who works as senior policy advisor to the deputy chief of staff for policy covering national security, described her day-to-day as &#8220;full on, totally intense and wonderful, absolutely the best job I&#8217;ve ever had in my entire life.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been deployed in combat zones and I can tell you, this has been a more intense job,&#8221; laughed Frederick, who was a civilian intelligence officer attached to the U.S. military overseas. She and fellow mother May Mailman joke that they&#8217;re switching into &#8220;deployment mode&#8221; as they have transitioned into their roles with babies.
Frederick is eight months pregnant with her second daughter, and she described a culture where &#8220;the women in the West Wing really wrap their arms around each other and empowered each other.&#8221;
One example: her female colleagues threw a baby shower for Frederick and another pregnant colleague, replete with piles of presents and desserts.
&#8220;That&#8217;s just a wonderful example of how they are just embracing motherhood, embracing existing mothers &#8230; these were mothers who organized all of this and executed it and surprised us!&#8221;
It&#8217;s not just the women of the West Wing, she assured The Daily Wire. Frederick recalled a cabinet member (&#8220;famous for being beautiful, as well as smart and a total bulldog&#8221;) walking down the hall toward her, seeing her eight-months-pregnant stomach, and making a beeline to assure her, &#8220;You look amazing.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m walking on air,&#8221; Fredericks laughed, recalling the incident. &#8220;You can&#8217;t go down the hallway without hearing, &#8216;You&#8217;re doing great, mama! Keep going!&#8217; It honestly is the best.&#8221;
Every single mother who spoke with The Daily Wire emphasized the importance of family support in balancing their roles as mothers and members of the Trump administration. They specifically mentioned their husbands, expressing gratitude for how flexible and supportive they have been.
&#8220;I&#8217;m very blessed with a great support system,&#8221; Leavitt shared. &#8220;A wonderful husband who is an amazing father to our son, great parents who come to D.C. often to help when we need it. And my faith really keeps me grounded in giving me the strength to do both jobs, very important jobs, at the same time.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Walked in to <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> typing with one hand, and feeding her son with the other 💙
Super Mom! <a href="https://t.co/UOMkHj5mV8">pic.twitter.com/UOMkHj5mV8</a>
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1920565558388416938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;There&#8217;s at least an awareness that when you&#8217;re putting your kid to bed at 7 p.m. that you&#8217;ll miss a couple phone calls,&#8221; shared a senior Trump administration official, &#8220;and it&#8217;s not gonna be the end of the world or you won&#8217;t be seen as a poor performer, that&#8217;s just super refreshing because everyone knows that when you&#8217;re on, you&#8217;re on, and you&#8217;re good at your job, but there are boundaries that you set up that will be respected.&#8221;
Referring to Wiles&#8217; remarks about family time, the official added: &#8220;I really appreciate that somebody from the top of the top of the chain implementing that type of environment.&#8221;
Frederick focused on this as well, dwelling on how much her husband has supported her and arguing that spousal support in this role is absolutely critical — &#8220;ladies, please marry wisely,&#8221; she joked.
Her job is particularly intense. She usually gets in around 8:45 a.m. and will stay until 8:30 in the evening or later, depending on what is going on.
&#8220;I&#8217;m extremely blessed to have my parents in the area, my sister in the area, my husband, who has made so many sacrifices to be there to be home when I can&#8217;t be because the hours are that grueling,&#8221; she explained.
Every person in the administration is making sacrifices to forward the president&#8217;s agenda, but these mothers are particularly aware of what they are giving to the administration when they say goodbye to their little ones, or get home late and can merely kiss their heads as they sleep. Why do they do it? According to Leavitt, she truly believes in Trump&#8217;s vision, in his presidency, and in the good he is doing for the United States of America. And it won&#8217;t be forever.
&#8220;I also know that this opportunity is the opportunity of a lifetime, and it&#8217;s temporary. President Trump is only going to be here for four years, and this is a historic moment in history. I work for a president whom I truly believe in and know that his policies are making a difference.&#8221;

On Being A Mom At The White House

Mothers Day

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sparred with a reporter who suggested that President Donald Trump was personally profiting from his time as president — specifically his upcoming trip to the Middle East — saying as Trump has in the past that he was likely losing money while he held the office.
During Friday&#8217;s White House briefing, a reporter asked whether Trump, while visiting the Middle East, planned to meet with people associated with his family business ventures in addition to political leaders — and Leavitt quickly read between the lines of her question.
WATCH:
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> smacks down the Fake News: &#8220;It&#8217;s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would suggest that <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> is doing anything for his own benefit&#8230; This is a President who has actually lost money for being President&#8230; I don&#8217;t remember these same types of questions being… <a href="https://t.co/yw6V7CtKCD">pic.twitter.com/yw6V7CtKCD</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1920894582146908612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;You noted he is a successful businessman,&#8221; the reporter began. &#8220;Do you know if the president has any plans to meet with any of the folks involved with any of the family businesses over there or see any of the sites that are going to be new Trump resorts?&#8221;
&#8220;Not to my knowledge,&#8221; Leavitt replied, adding, &#8220;And let me just get to the premise of your question that both of you have raised. I think it&#8217;s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.&#8221;
&#8220;He left a life of luxury, and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service, not just once but twice,&#8221; Leavitt continued. &#8220;And again, the American public reelected him back to this White House because they trust he acts in the best interests of our country and putting the American public first.&#8221;
&#8220;This is a President who has actually lost money for being President of the United States,&#8221; she concluded with a dig at former President Joe Biden, adding, &#8220;I don&#8217;t remember these same types of questions being asked of my predecessor about a career politician who was clearly profiting off of this office. That is not what President Trump does, and this White House holds ourselves to the highest ethical standards.&#8221;

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Holds Daily Press Briefing

Leavitt Spars With Reporter Who Suggests Trump Could Use Middle East Trip For Personal Profit

The United States economy added more jobs than expected in April, while government positions continued to decline, according to the April jobs report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_05022025.htm">report</a> on Friday, showing that jobs had increased in April by 177,000, much more than the 133,000 that had been projected by the Dow Jones. At the same time, federal jobs declined by around 9,000 while the healthcare, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance industries all saw growth. 
&#8220;This is the second month in a row where the jobs report has beat expectations,&#8221; <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/05/jobs-boom-more-americans-working-for-higher-pay/">said</a> White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. &#8220;Wages are continuing to rise and labor force participation is increasing. This is exactly what we want to see. More Americans working for higher wages. More winning is on the way!”
The healthcare industry added 51,000 jobs, including 22,000 in hospitals and 21,000 in ambulatory services, while transportation and warehousing increased by 29,000, according to the report. The 177,000 jobs were lower than the 185,000 jobs that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-cant-lose-march-job-growth-vastly-outpaces-expectations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were added</a> in March, which also beat job growth expectations. 
Unemployment remained at 4.2%, and the labor force participation rate changed little. This was the first jobs report released after President Donald Trump announced &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs. Most of those tariffs have been lowered to 10% across the board, with a 145% tariff on China.
The markets responded positively to the jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&amp;P 500, and the Nasdaq all jumping more than 1%.
Responding to the news, the White House&#8217;s official &#8220;Rapid Response&#8221; X account celebrated the job gains made in the private sector and the decline in government employment. According to the White House, more than 95% of the jobs added to the economy under President Donald Trump have come from the private sector, while around 25% of the jobs created during President Joe Biden&#8217;s final two years were government jobs.
&#8220;Federal employment has already shrank by 26,000 jobs under Trump after ballooning by 139,000 jobs in Biden’s last two years. President Trump is right-sizing government while unleashing private-sector growth,&#8221; the account posted.
Trump and his top donor, Elon Musk, have pushed for a variety of cuts across the federal workforce — from the IRS to the State Department — through Musk&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency project. Some of the cuts have come through firings, while other departments have pushed federal employees to accept buyouts to vacate their jobs.
The White House also celebrated the job gains made among native-born Americans during President Trump&#8217;s first three months in office.
&#8220;Biden relied on government jobs and foreign-born workers. Native-born workers have fueled 97.6% of job growth under President Trump,&#8221; the White House posted. &#8220;In Biden’s final two years, native-born Americans accounted for only HALF (56.9%) of employment gains.&#8221;

President Trump Announces Aviation Safety Executive Orders In The Oval Office Of White House

Solid April Jobs Report Shows Govt Employment Drops As Private Sector Growth Beats Expectations

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Economy

Elon Musk

Jobs

Stock Market

WASHINGTON—In a splashy Tuesday morning scoop, Punchbowl News revealed that Amazon would start displaying how much an item&#8217;s cost had derived from tariffs next to the product&#8217;s total listed price. By noon, Jeff Bezos had backed down.
In the hours in between, Bezos received a private blasting from President Donald Trump, which happened to come just after he took a very public one from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Leavitt took her briefing room podium ready for the question: she had an article printed out that showed Bezos beneath the headline &#8220;Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ll take this question since I just got off the phone with the president about Amazon&#8217;s announcement,&#8221; Leavitt said from the podium. &#8220;This was a hostile and political act by Amazon. Why didn&#8217;t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?&#8221;
She added, &#8220;It&#8217;s not a surprise, because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.&#8221;
A source familiar with the day&#8217;s events told The Daily Wire that as Leavitt was publicly laying into Bezos, Trump, who watches all of the White House press briefings, was privately calling him and bringing the hammer down.
It was a two-pronged approach that highlights the role Leavitt plays in the White House: not just the president&#8217;s spokeswoman, but his secret weapon in high-stakes fights. “Karoline and POTUS are a one-two punch,&#8221; a source familiar with how the day unfolded shared with The Daily Wire.
<div id="attachment_913727" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-two-punch-karoline-leavitt-emerges-as-trumps-secret-weapon-in-amazon-win/us-politics-leavitt-briefing-16" rel="attachment wp-att-913727"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913727" class="wp-image-913727 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2212028426-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2212028426-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2212028426-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2212028426-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2212028426.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent take questions from reporters on April 29, 2025.  (Photo by STAFF/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
The president was made aware of the story on Tuesday morning before Leavitt strode into the briefing at 8:30 a.m., flanked by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, to discuss how the Trump administration is &#8220;unleashing economic greatness.&#8221;
Leavitt used the news of Amazon&#8217;s slight to push that economic message, but also to lay into Bezos and his company.
&#8220;So this is another reason why Americans should buy American. It&#8217;s another reason why we are on-shoring critical supply chains here at home to shore up our own critical supply chain, and boost our own manufacturing here,&#8221; Leavitt said.
Pressed on whether Bezos is &#8220;still a Trump supporter,&#8221; she responded: &#8220;Look, I will not speak to the president&#8217;s relationship with Jeff Bezos but I will tell you that this was certainly a hostile and political action by Amazon.&#8221;
The incident prompted a slew of headlines and social media posts highlighting Leavitt&#8217;s characterization of Amazon as &#8220;hostile.&#8221;
Punchbowl broke the Amazon news in a Tuesday morning story literally sponsored by the company (Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this point).
&#8220;Amazon doesn’t want to shoulder the blame for the cost of President Donald Trump’s trade war,&#8221; reported the publication. &#8220;So the e-commerce giant will soon show how much Trump’s tariffs are adding to the price of each product.&#8221;
Amid the buzz, and shortly after the briefing ended, Walmart announced a new &#8220;Grow With Us&#8221; initiative (<a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/29/walmart-products-made-america-small-business-program">announced exclusively with Axios</a>) focused on &#8220;expanding support for American-made products&#8221; and &#8220;providing small businesses with new tools and paths for success.&#8221;
&#8220;With Grow with US and the upcoming 2025 Open Call, Walmart is making it easier for U.S.-based entrepreneurs to navigate the complexities of retail and bring their products to a national stage,&#8221; Walmart said in a Tuesday release.
Leavitt quickly celebrated the move by Amazon&#8217;s competitor, calling it the &#8220;Trump effect.&#8221;
And by 11:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Amazon was refuting the report it had exclusively shared with Punchbowl in its sponsored story.
“The team that runs our ultra-low-cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,&#8221; Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle said, adding: &#8220;This was never approved and is not going to happen.”
Trump himself addressed the matter as he headed to Michigan to rally in honor of the first 100 days of his second term.
&#8220;Jeff Bezos was very nice,&#8221; the president told reporters outside the White House. &#8220;He was terrific. He solved the problem very quickly and he did the right thing. He&#8217;s a good guy.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-LEAVITT-BRIEFING

‘One-Two Punch’: Karoline Leavitt Was Trump’s Secret Weapon In Amazon Win

Amazon

Amazon denied on Tuesday that it was planning to show the cost that tariffs would add to the price of products on its website, pushing back on a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hostile-white-house-sounds-off-after-amazon-says-it-will-display-tariff-costs-for-consumers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Punchbowl News after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the Seattle-based company.
Leavitt ripped Amazon for taking a &#8220;hostile and political&#8221; action, adding, “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” After backlash from the White House, the company said that it &#8220;never&#8221; considered showing tariff costs on &#8220;the main Amazon site.&#8221;
An Amazon spokesman said on Tuesday morning that the plan was only discussed for the &#8220;ultra low cost Amazon Haul store,&#8221; which &#8220;considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,&#8221; ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/live-updates/trump-admin-live-updates-border-czar-brief-securing/?id=121230740&amp;entryId=121277073" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The spokesman added, &#8220;Teams discuss ideas all the time. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.&#8221;
Asked about the Punchbowl report during a press briefing on Tuesday morning, Leavitt said that she had just spoken to President Donald Trump about the issue. Leavitt also pointed to a 2021 Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/amazon-partnered-with-china-propaganda-arm-win-beijings-favor-document-shows-2021-12-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> about the tech and e-commerce giant partnering with a Chinese propaganda arm and complying with some of communist China’s wishes for the website. More than 70% of Amazon&#8217;s products are sourced in China and subject to Trump’s 145% tariff on the country.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has not commented on the Punchbowl report. Bezos has cozied up to Trump since the 2024 election, joining Trump for dinner at Mar-a-Lago after the election and attending Trump&#8217;s inauguration after Amazon donated $1 million to the inaugural fund.

Amazon Denies That It Considered Listing Tariff Costs On ‘Main’ Site After Trump Backlash

Business

Jeff Bezos

Tariffs

Trump Administration

Amazon will begin displaying the cost that President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs are adding to the price of products, according to Punchbowl News, irking the Trump administration, which on Tuesday described Amazon&#8217;s move as &#8220;hostile and political.&#8221;
Punchbowl News <a href="https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/amazon-display-tariff-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the massive e-commerce company will show the cost that tariffs add to each product next to the total price. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/PhilipWegmann/status/1917201780687135018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blasted</a> Amazon during a press briefing on Tuesday morning, saying she &#8220;just got off the phone with the president,&#8221; who discussed Amazon&#8217;s decision.
&#8220;This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;Why didn&#8217;t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?&#8221;
Amazon denied that it was planning to show the cost of tariffs next to products shortly after Leavitt&#8217;s comments. An Amazon spokesman said that the plan was only discussed for the “ultra low cost Amazon Haul store,” which “considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/live-updates/trump-admin-live-updates-border-czar-brief-securing/?id=121230740&amp;entryId=121277073" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The spokesman added, “Teams discuss ideas all the time. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”
Leavitt said that Amazon&#8217;s reported decision is &#8220;not a surprise,&#8221; pointing to a 2021 Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/amazon-partnered-with-china-propaganda-arm-win-beijings-favor-document-shows-2021-12-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> about the tech and e-commerce giant partnering with a Chinese propaganda arm and complying with some of communist China&#8217;s wishes for the website.
&#8220;This is another reason why Americans should buy American. It&#8217;s another reason why we are onshoring critical supply chains here at home to shore up our own critical supply chain and boost our own manufacturing,&#8221; Leavitt said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> reacts to Amazon&#39;s announcement on tariffs: &quot;This is a hostile and political act by Amazon&#8230; It&#39;s not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm&#8230; This is another reason Americans should buy American.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/jtXZYfR8rH">pic.twitter.com/jtXZYfR8rH</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1917203919521882362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Some economists express concerns that the president&#8217;s tariffs on China will mostly hurt American consumers. More than <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/33376/share-of-items-sold-on-amazon-by-country-of-origin/#:~:text=More%20than%2070%20percent%20of,above%20the%20100%20percent%20mark." target="_blank" rel="noopener">70%</a> of Amazon&#8217;s products are sourced in China and subject to Trump&#8217;s 145% tariff on the country. The president hinted at an end to the escalating trade war with China soon, saying last week that the tariff on China &#8220;will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.&#8221; China has retaliated with a 125% tariff on American goods.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has grown warmer toward Trump in recent months. After Trump&#8217;s election victory, Bezos dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and Amazon donated $1 million to the president&#8217;s inauguration. Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, has also been hit by the Left for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-opinion-editor-quits-after-jeff-bezos-announces-significant-shift-in-opinion-section" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dialing back</a> the newspaper&#8217;s opinion section and reportedly urging the Post to hire more conservative columnists.
This article has been updated with additional information.

White House Press Briefing

‘Hostile’: White House Sounds Off On Amazon Reportedly Displaying Tariff Costs For Consumers

China

Trade War

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it&#8217;s &#8220;about time&#8221; that the legacy media admitted to being part of &#8220;one of the greatest cover-ups&#8221; due to their reluctance to report on President Joe Biden&#8217;s mental acuity.
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Mary Margaret Olohan asked Leavitt for a response to Axios reporter Alex Thompson, who criticized how journalists dealt with the last administration, as Thompson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql6nYEgVjjo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence at the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner for his <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/07/22/biden-kamala-harris-election-chances" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> on Biden&#8217;s declining cognitive state.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;Can you comment on&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexThomp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AlexThomp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/axios?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@axios</a> &#8220;remarks &amp; whether you agree with that assessment&#8221;
White House press sec. Karoline Leavitt: &#8220;I do agree with that assessment from Alex Thompson&#8221; at WHCA dinner. &#8220;Millions of Americans watched our mentally incompetent president struggle &#8230;&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/117g944k7w">pic.twitter.com/117g944k7w</a>
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1916844994339405836?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Alex Thompson said at the White House Correspondents Dinner. And I&#8217;m going to read his quote, ‘President Biden’s decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of the party, is capable of deception. We, myself included, missed a lot of this story, and some people trust us less because of it.’ Can you comment on those remarks and whether you agree with that assessment?” Olohan asked.
&#8220;I do agree with that assessment from Alex Thompson, who I understand won an award for writing a story months and perhaps years after the American people already knew that story to be true. Millions of Americans watched our mentally incompetent president struggle with his day-to-day duties of this office,&#8221; Leavitt replied. &#8220;We watched our country be ran into the ground as a result, and nobody in the media wanted to write about that [or] talk about it. There were many, many reporters, I will say, right-leaning reporters who did talk about that, who didn&#8217;t get awards, didn&#8217;t get coverage.&#8221;
She continued: &#8220;In fact, they were lambasted for their coverage and I remember being on President Trump&#8217;s campaign talking about Joe Biden&#8217;s clear mental incompetence and being accused by people in this room of manufacturing deepfake videos, trying to persuade the public into not believing what they saw with their own eyes for many years and I think it&#8217;s about time the legacy media finally admits that was one of the greatest cover ups and scandals that ever took place in American history and certainly it did contribute to the decline in the trust that Americans have for the legacy media&#8230;which, by the way, is why we&#8217;ve made many changes to this briefing room in this White House. It&#8217;s long overdue.&#8221;
Since President Donald Trump began his second term, the White House has made several changes in the press room, including making space for &#8220;new media” journalists and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-will-decide-which-reporters-get-briefing-room-seats-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking control</a> of the seating chart.

Former President Joe Biden

‘One Of The Greatest Cover-Ups’: Leavitt Rips Legacy Media For Burying Biden’s Decline

Executive

Joe Biden

Media Bias

It&#8217;s Earth Day, and the White House is trying to fix a toxic and smelly environmental issue on the nation&#8217;s southern border.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the Trump administration is urging the Mexican government to do more to stop sewage from flowing across the border and into the United States. She highlighted President Donald Trump&#8217;s desire to &#8220;do what&#8217;s right&#8221; for the environment.
During Tuesday&#8217;s press briefing, Leavitt responded to a question from Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan and discussed the work of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, who is in San Diego pushing for the Mexican government to stop the flow of sewage into the United States.
&#8220;Administrator Zeldin met with his Mexican counterpart to discuss steps Mexico needs to take to ensure the water entering the United States is clean and safe, and he&#8217;s holding a press conference in San Diego today with elected officials and local stakeholders on the Tijuana River sewage crisis,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;I would also add from the president himself, he has always maintained he wants America to have the cleanest air and the cleanest water, and we want to do what&#8217;s right for our environment and for our earth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
What does the White House have planned for Earth Day? <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaryMargOlohan</a>:
&quot;[President Trump] has always maintained he wants America to have the cleanest air and the cleanest water, and we want to do what&#39;s right for our environment and for our earth.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/nrNinIXu8A">pic.twitter.com/nrNinIXu8A</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1914738540858265921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Raw sewage from Mexico has traveled into the United States through the Tijuana River Watershed &#8220;for decades,&#8221; according to Zeldin, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/21/us-news/epas-zeldin-demands-end-to-mexican-sewage-flooding-across-border/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The issue has raised concerns about &#8220;beach closures, degradation of the Tijuana River Valley, and concerns of public health, air quality,&#8221; Zeldin added. Trump&#8217;s EPA administrator met with Mexican Environmental Secretary Alicia Bárcena to discuss the crisis.
Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/work-starts-to-stop-sewage-flows-into-california-from-mexico/2020/09/02/b8675f3e-ed86-11ea-bd08-1b10132b458f_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> to resolve the Tijuana sewage issue during his first administration, completing a $10.6 million project to prevent millions of gallons of sewage from entering the Tijuana River. Zeldin said on Monday that the crisis &#8220;needs to end.&#8221;
“[T]here’s nowhere more important for me to be tomorrow than on the border in California dealing with this very important public health and environmental crisis,” he added.

Leavitt Highlights Big Environmental Issue For Trump Admin On Earth Day

California

Earth Day

Environment

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Lee Zeldin

Mexico

Social Issues

Southern Border

The Trump administration has received 18 trade proposals from foreign governments, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday, indicating advancements in negotiations following President Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-unleashes-liberation-day-tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduction</a> of &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs earlier this month.
&#8220;I spoke to our entire trade team this morning. There is a lot of progress being made. We now have 18 proposals on paper that have been brought to the trade team,&#8221; Leavitt told reporters during a White House press briefing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> says the administration has received 18 trade proposals from foreign countries so far — and that officials have trade meetings with 34 countries this week alone. <a href="https://t.co/XyK2LCgoB0">pic.twitter.com/XyK2LCgoB0</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1914733472066785619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Leavitt said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro have meetings with representatives from 34 countries this week.
&#8220;We are moving at Trump speed to ensure these deals are made on behalf of the American worker and the American people,&#8221; Leavitt said.
Leavitt said an underreported news story from this week, in which much of the media&#8217;s coverage has been on the death of Pope Francis, was Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1914649244318703818" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing</a> that the United States and India have finalized the &#8220;terms of reference&#8221; for a trade negotiation between the two countries.
Vance shared the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jd-vance-champions-roadmap-toward-us-india-trade-deal-says-partnership-critical-deterring-dark-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news</a> during a trip to India, during which he met with the country&#8217;s prime minister, Narendra Modi.
&#8220;That is a big deal,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;We know, when we look at the numbers, the monetary trade barriers and the non-monetary trade barriers from India — they have been ripping off the United States and American workers for a very long time.&#8221;
She added: &#8220;So the fact that the vice president, with Prime Minister Modi on that trip to India, announced these terms of reference, which is essentially a framework to move the ball forward to sign a good trade deal between our two nations is great progress and it speaks to the work ethic and the real labor that&#8217;s being put into this effort by the president&#8217;s trade team.&#8221;
A little more than a week after &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; on April 2, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs for most countries, reverting to a 10% rate, while <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-issues-90-day-pause-on-most-tariffs-raises-chinas-to-125" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increasing</a> levies on China to 145%.
Pressed on whether the new trade proposals were sufficient to extend the pause, Leavitt said, &#8220;Ask me in July when the deadline hits.&#8221;
Leavitt also provided an update in regard to China, which has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/china-strikes-back-with-125percent-tariffs-on-us-goods-starting-april-12.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> tariffs on U.S. goods to 125% and vowed to implement <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-vows-to-punish-countries-that-agree-to-trump-trade-deals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;countermeasures&#8221;</a> against countries that agree to trade deals with Trump &#8220;at the expense&#8221; of its interests.
&#8220;I asked the president about this before coming out here. And he wanted me to share with all of you that we are doing very well in respect to a potential trade deal with China,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;As I mentioned, there have now been 18 proposals and more than 100 countries around the world who are wanting to make a deal with the United States of America, and the president and the administration are setting the stage for a deal with China.&#8221;
She continued: &#8220;So we feel everyone involved wants to see a trade deal happen, and the ball is moving in the right direction.&#8221;

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

‘Moving At Trump Speed’: White House Touts 18 Trade Proposals So Far

India

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