White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lost it at CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins after the high-profile journalist cornered her over American soldiers killed in the war with Iran.
As the conflict escalates in the Middle East, Leavitt accused Collins of being disingenuous and demanded that she and the media do more to cover the success of the president’s strikes.
The heated exchange began when Collins asked Leavitt about Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s earlier comments, in which he hit out at the press for highlighting the deaths of U.S. service members killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait over the weekend.
“This is what the fake news misses,” Hegseth told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news. I get it—the press only wants to make the president look bad.”
Asked if the administration believed the press did not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members, Leavitt replied: “No, it’s the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room.”
Collins then pressed her further, noting that Hegseth appeared to be complaining that it was front page news that six service members had been killed.
“That’s not what the secretary said, Kaitlan, and that’s not what the secretary meant—and you know it,” Leavitt clapped back.
“You know you are being disingenuous. We’ve never had a secretary of defense who cares more.”
Collins then read out Hegseth’s comments, including the claim about the press wanting to make the president look bad, to which an indignant Leavitt replied: “The press does want to make the president look bad—especially you, and especially CNN.”
“We expect you to cover (the story) as you should, Kaitlan, but you and your network know that you take every single thing this administration says and tries to use it to make the president look bad; that is an objectionable fact,” Leavitt added.
“If you’re trying to argue right now that CNN’s overwhelming coverage is not negative of President Donald Trump, I don’t think the American people would tend to agree, and your ratings would tend to agree.”
The tirade came as the war in Iran entered its fifth day, and the administration attempted to explain to an unconvinced public the reasons for the intervention.
So far, six service members have died in the conflict, oil and gas prices have surged, and Trump’s own MAGA base has also fractured, with firebrands such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly questioning the intervention.
The Pentagon has now released the names of four of the six American soldiers killed in the conflict so far: Captain Cody Khork, 35; Sergeant Nicole Amor, 39; Sergeant Declan Coady, 20; and Sergeant Noah Tietjens, 42.
“We’re a year in, a year in, and we’re in another f----ing war, and we’ve got American troops being killed,” former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene furiously told Megan Kelly on her podcast this week.
“I think it’s time for America to rip the band aid off, and we need to have a serious conversation about what the f--- is happening to this country, and who in the hell is are these decisions being made for and who is making these decisions?”
Wednesday’s exchange was not the first time Collins has clashed with the White House or the president.
Last month, Trump lashed out at Collins after she asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein files, calling her “the worst reporter” and suggesting she should smile more.
In December, Leavitt and Collins had another heated briefing-room clash over economic questions, with Leavitt accusing her of pushing narratives about inflation and challenging the Trump administration’s messaging.
Also that month, Trump lashed out at Collins on Truth Social, calling her “stupid and nasty” (and even misspelling her name) after she questioned the rising cost and scope of a controversial White House ballroom project.
