Karoline Leavitt's Most Ruthless Takedowns Of Reporters In 2025

Karoline Leavitt kicked off her gig as Donald Trump's press secretary with full Regina George energy, ready to rumble with reporters — and things only got more heated throughout her first year on the job. From her bitter feuds with Kaitlan Collins and NBC's Peter Alexander, to more general snide asides, Leavitt's 2025 performance all but confirmed that she loves beefing with reporters. 

We'll start with Alexander, because it was the NBC White House correspondent whom Leavitt sparred the most in her very first White House press briefing. Leavitt made no secret of the fact that she was annoyed by Alexander's questions about Trump's federal grant freeze, and when the NBC reporter asked which programs might be affected, she fired back with, "So you're asking a hypothetical based on programs you can't even identify." Alexander responded with snark of his own, asking her if they could list the affected programs "together, just for the Americans at home."

Unfortunately, things didn't exactly warm up between the two in the months that followed. Roughly a month later, when Alexander asked Leavitt about the administration's claims to have uncovered $71 billion in fraud, they sparred over the time period in which that fraud was alleged to have taken place. In addition to accusing Alexander of defending the fraud itself when he pointed out that the amount was from a seven-year period and not one, Leavitt also said he and other members of the press seemed determined to prevent waste-cutting. She also continued speaking over him as he tried to ask questions, prompting meme-worthy expressions from the journalist as he tried to get a word in edgewise. Leavitt ultimately cut the briefing short, turning on her heel, flashing a fake smile, and telling the press pool, "Thank you, everybody, have a good day," as per NBC News. 

A few weeks into her new job, Karoline Leavitt had another run-in with reporters. This time, she was questioned about the Associated Press's White House correspondent being denied entry to the Oval Office after the outlet had referred to the then newly renamed Gulf of America as the Gulf of Mexico. 

Asked about that decision by Kaitlan Collins in a White House press briefing, Leavitt launched into a tirade. "First of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House ... and nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the President of the United States questions. That's an invitation that is given," she began. Leavitt added that despite the AP's reporter being barred from the Oval Office, the outlet still had a presence in the briefing room — but Collins wasn't moved. She followed up by asking if the decision wasn't mere retaliation and an infringement of the First Amendment. That, unfortunately, led to another diatribe from Leavitt. "I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I'm not sure why news outlets don't want to call it that, but that is what it is," she snapped. 

The AP ultimately sued the administration for the decision. 

Karoline Leavitt's argument with Kaitlan Collins over the Associated Press having access to the Oval Office may have been relatively tame, but that's not to say she and the CNN anchor were always cordial. On the contrary, we'd argue that Collins may have been Leavitt's number one nemesis in 2025. One particularly heated moment between the two came in March, in the aftermath of the Signal chat leaks. 

Visibly — and vocally — irritated by the questions regarding Donald Trump's response to the classified information in the chats, Leavitt told Collins, "I've now been asked to answer this question three times by the both of you, and I've given you my answer: The president feels the same today as he did yesterday." Collins, who had begun by saying she had two questions, one of which was a follow-up to something Leavitt had said a few moments prior, began asking her second question — and that was where things became even more tense. "No. Go ahead, Philip," she said, gesturing for RealClearPolitics' Philip Wegman to ask his question. Collins pushed anyway, noting that it was in relation to something Leavitt had just said — though Leavitt made it clear she wasn't having it. "Kaitlan, I'm not taking your follow-up. Phillip, go ahead," Leavitt said dismissively. Collins pushed again, prompting Leavitt to spell it out once more. Turning back to the CNN anchor ever so slightly, she repeated her dismissal more slowly. "Kaitlan, I am not taking your follow-up," she said.

Collins did not ask any further questions, but it wouldn't be the last time she and the press secretary went head-to-head.

In July 2025, Karoline Leavitt had another run-in with Kaitlan Collins. This time, she was clapping back in response to a question the CNN anchor had posed to Tulsi Gabbard, who had been included in the White House press briefing. 

As a brief refresher, Collins had asked Gabbard if declassifying documents that accused the Obama administration of making up the claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election was a way for the director of national intelligence to get back into Donald Trump's good books after he'd openly criticized her for saying she didn't believe Iran was a nuclear threat. "Kaitlan ... who is saying that? That she would release this to try to boost her standing with the president? Who has said that?" Leavitt demanded. When Collins replied that Trump had already "publicly undermined" Gabbard, Leavitt shut her down. "The only people who are suggesting that the Director of National Intelligence would release evidence to try to boost her standing with the president are the people in this room, who constantly try to sow distrust and chaos amongst the president's cabinet," she snapped. 

Collins later shared the clip of the exchange on her Instagram, and unfortunately, the common consensus was that Leavitt's interjection did more harm to Gabbard's reputation than good. "Lol, Karoline didn't trust Gabbard to answer that question," wrote one. "The White House speaker is now the personal speaker of Tulsi Gabbard?" joked another. Collins didn't address the press secretary's delivery herself. 

While Karoline Leavitt's mean-girl tactics toward Kaitlan Collins are well-publicized, in October 2025, it was HuffPost's S.V. Date on the receiving end of her shady side.  

In response to a text from Date, who had asked the press secretary who had decided to hold talks between Russia and Ukraine in Budapest, Leavitt had texted, "Your mom did." Understandably, the bizarre response from a White House official prompted Date to ask if Leavitt found the situation funny ... to which Leavitt replied with even more vitriol. "It's funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic]," she began. "You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don't tell you that to your face. Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bulls*** questions," she added. 

Not one to issue an apology or even lie low after what most perceived to be peak unprofessionalism, Leavitt later shared a screenshot of the text to X, formerly known as Twitter, proving that she had indeed said that. Leavitt also doubled down in her caption. "For context, S.V. Date of the Huffington Post is not a journalist interested in the facts. He is a left-wing hack who has consistently attacked President Trump for years and constantly bombards my phone with Democrat talking points," she wrote. She ended the post, lamenting, "Activists who masquerade as real reporters do a disservice to the profession." Sick burn. 

We have to give credit where it's due, because not all of Karoline Leavitt's ruthless moments have been the result of personal vendettas. On the contrary, there were a number of moments in 2025 when she made mere throwaway comments at journalists' expense. 

For one, there was the time NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright asked about Donald Trump's parade at a White House press briefing, and whether or not the president would tolerate peaceful protest. Enter, a zinger from Leavitt. "Of course, the president supports peaceful protest, what a stupid question," the press secretary smirked before moving swiftly along to another reporter.  Then there was the time Leavitt deemed a reporter's question "despicable." After The New York Times' Shawn McCreesh asked whether there was any conflict of interest for Jared Kushner to work with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates when each of the countries had invested heavily in his firm, Leavitt called him out in a big way. "I think it's frankly despicable that you're trying to suggest that it's inappropriate for Jared Kushner, who is widely respected around the world and has great trust in relationships with these critical partners in these countries, to strike a 20-point, comprehensive, detailed peace plan," Leavitt scolded.

Other write-home moments have included Leavitt justifying Trump referring to a journalist as "Piggy," explaining in a press briefing, "He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration." Guess that makes up for blatant disrespect, then. Time will tell if Leavitt ever writes a memoir, but if and when she does, might we suggest "Burn Book"?