The presidential spokesperson had an intense exchange with the employee of the Democratic network CNN, Kaitlan Collins
Leavitt's reprimand left the CNN employee speechless. "I would encourage you, as a journalist, to go to the scene and see it for yourself. Because there are many members of the press—not from the press in this room, but independent journalists, some of whom we will soon invite to the White House to share their stories—who have been in the midst of these riots and have witnessed the anarchy that is happening night after night."
The White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, had a heated exchange this Monday with CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins during a White House press conference. The discussion focused on the federal intervention ordered by President Donald Trump in Democrat-controlled cities plagued by crime such as Chicago and Portland.
Thus, the confrontation began when the journalist brought up the opinion of a federal judge who, in a recent ruling, stated that Donald Trump doesn't have the authority to deploy federal troops in various cities across the country.
“With all due respect to that judge, I believe her opinion is not connected to either reality or the law,” Leavitt said. "We are appealing that decision, we expect a hearing on this very soon, and we are very confident in the president's legal authority to do this, and we are fully confident that we will win based on the legal merit of the case".
Collins countered the presidential spokesperson's statements by saying that she spoke with the Portland police chief last week, who, according to the journalist from the Democratic tabloid, confirmed to her that what is happening on the ground doesn't warrant a federal intervention from Trump.
"It's recorded on video. You should put it on your show. You have a great opportunity in prime time on CNN to show it to your audience," was the challenge the official posed to the propagandist. "You're probably talking to partisan Democratic officials who oppose everything this president does," she added.
"You should talk to the people who live in Portland. We have heard from many neighbors who have said this is total civil disobedience. It's a disaster. It's disruptive for the neighbors who just want to live in peace. And these people are not there to protest peacefully. They're there to cause chaos and destruction," Leavitt concluded forcefully.
