White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clashed with CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins when asked about President Donald Trump’s latest messaging on affordability.
Trump has repeatedly boasted about the state of the economy despite recent polls showing that Americans believe the president is not doing enough to address the rising costs of living. During Thursday’s press briefing, Collins asked Leavitt about Trump telling parents earlier this week to buy fewer toys for their children.
“If the economy is as strong as the president has said it is, then why is he telling parents two weeks before Christmas that they should only buy two or three dolls for their children?” Collins asked.
“Look, what the president is saying is that if we want products made right here in America, if we want them to be made from American small businesses, which is a large part of the reason the president has effectively implemented tariffs, then we’re going to have better quality products right here in the United States,” Leavitt responded.
“Maybe you’ll pay a dollar or two more, but you will get better quality and you’ll be supporting your fellow Americans by buying American,” she added.
She then claimed that “every economic metric” shows the economy is “getting better” than it was under former President Joe Biden’s administration. She argued that inflation is at 2.5%, workers’ wages are increasing and that gas prices are down across the country.
“The president is digging our country out of the economic hole that the previous administration put us in, and that’s what he’s talking about,” Leavitt added.
Collins then challenged Leavitt, noting that grocery prices “have been up” and that there’s been “mixed signals” about the economy. Leavitt then emphasized that “inflation is down” when Collins and other reporters shouted questions about the economy.
Leavitt ended the exchange by attacking Collins for asking questions about inflation and the economy.
“My predecessor stood up at this podium and she said inflation doesn’t exist. She said the border was secure and people like you just took her at her word and that those were two utter lies,” Leavitt told Collins.
“Everything I’m telling you is the truth backed by real factual data and you just don’t want to report on it because you want to push untrue narratives about the president,” she added.
Moments later, Leavitt bashed CNN when answering a question on the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount to buy Warner Bros., which owns CNN.
“Well, I think the president’s comments yesterday about the sale of CNN and new leadership is evidenced by my exchange with the CNN reporter in this room. Their viewership has gone down, their ratings has declined, and I think the president rightfully believes that network would benefit from new ownership. With respect to this deal, he has great respect for both companies who are bidding against one another,” Leavitt said.
The White House continued to lash out at Collins after the press briefing.
“Your daily reminder that Fake News @kaitlancollins is not a journalist. She is a mouthpiece for the Democrat Party,” the White House Rapid Response account posted on social media platform X.
Trump also attacked Collins last week in a post on Truth Social.
“Caitlin Collin’s of Fake News CNN, always Stupid and Nasty, asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago,” Trump posted last Friday on Truth Social, misspelling Collins’s first name. “I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level.”
“It’s just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned,” he said.
Collins responded to Trump’s insults at the time in a now-expired Instagram stories post. She said that in the interview Trump seemed to be referring to, she had asked him about receiving the new FIFA Peace Prize while threatening military action against Venezuela and bombing alleged drug smuggling vessels off its coast.
“Technically, my question was about Venezuela,” Collins wrote on Instagram, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Nick Moyle contributed to this report.
