Latest news with #pressbriefing
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jen Psaki Spoofs Karoline Leavitt With Ice-Cold Trump Stunt Prediction
Former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki once again stepped back into briefing mode by using her MSNBC show to satirize the often chaotic briefings held by current Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt. In the Wednesday segment, Psaki responded to real questions that have been posed to Leavitt but, as she said when debuting the bit earlier this month, 'without the usual MAGA spin.' Before a digital backdrop of the White House briefing room, Psaki picked out key themes from a recent briefing. She argued that Trump is 'a lot of things, but a fiscal hawk is not one of them,' dismissed the idea that Trump sees Russian President Vladimir Putin as a villain, and predicted Trump may end up flying reporters to Greenland — a territory he has repeatedly talked about acquiring for the United States — to distract from controversies at home. Watch here: The Most Brutal Zingers About Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' During Fiery House Debate Child's Sharp Question About Trump Delivers Viral Moment At White House Iconic Director Trashes Trump With Muffled Cannes Mic-Drop
CTV News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
LIVE SOON: Karoline Leavitt holds White House briefing
Watch U.S. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a briefing at the White House. Watch LIVE here.
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'New media' seat at White House briefings shakes up establishment with alternative to 'archaic' press
The "new media" seat at the White House has shaken up press briefings as the Trump administration aims to reach Americans who don't rely on what it calls "the archaic White House press corps" for information. The "new media" seat is the brainchild of press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who felt legacy media essentially had a monopoly over coverage of the White House. No seats were taken from anyone, as the designated seat to the right of the lectern is where White House staffers or guests traditionally sat along the side of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Nowadays, the seat is filled by new and emerging voices who typically get introduced by Leavitt before being called upon for the first question of the briefing, which traditionally went to the Associated Press under previous administrations. Some of the "new media" seat's occupants, such as Axios' Mike Allen and 2Way's Mark Halperin, are longtime D.C. insiders who currently work for upstart organizations, while others, like "Unbiased Podcast" host Jordan Berman, wouldn't have sniffed the briefing room under previous administrations. "The legacy media's charade of inclusivity has been exposed by their resistance to allow emerging voices into the press briefing room. Americans have found new ways to digest their media—and we cater to the people, not the archaic White House press corps," assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. The "new media" seat has also faced criticism, largely from legacy outlets, and some of the occupants have been criticized for lobbing softball questions at briefings or heaping praise on Leavitt and the president. But White House insiders believe negative coverage of the opportunity for new voices is proof that traditional outlets are scared to relinquish control of the briefing room. Ruthless Podcast co-host John Ashbrook occupied the seat in January and asked Leavitt if the legacy media was out of touch with the border crisis. He embraced his role as an outsider in the briefing room despite what he called "eye rolls and smirks" from traditional journalists. "Every dirty look from legacy media was wiped away when they had to write down the news made in response to the question I asked," Ashbrook told Fox News Digital. While Ashbrook used his lead-off question to prompt criticism of the press, other "new media" seat occupants have asked about such topics as transgender athletes, artificial intelligence, the economy and foreign policy. "Timcast IRL" host Tim Pool has been one of the more polarizing occupants of the seat. When Pool was announced as the seat holder last month, the move was swiftly criticized by mainstream reporters. New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger reminded his followers on X that Pool was tied to a Tennessee-based media company accused of receiving money from Russia (Pool has denied any wrongdoing), while a USA Today reporter took issue with his signature beanie cap. Pool, who has 2.4 million followers on X, said he noticed "snooty looks" from some legacy reporters and "disdain" for his presence on social media following the opportunity. "All they've done in that press room is march in lockstep with each other, all reporting the same falsehoods, the same angles, the same manipulations. There's no curiosity. The questions they largely ask are predictable. And yet, if any other company wants to come in, it's a whiplash, it is an attack, it's vitriol. They're acting more like high school teen girls than professionals," Pool told Fox News Digital. Pool said that during the Biden administration, White House reporters from liberal, mainstream outlets were largely not curious or intentionally tried to obfuscate facts and details to push a political ideology. He's thrilled that Leavitt has shaken things up to offer a break from the "faux adversarial questions" that liberal reporters asked during the Biden administration. "There needs to be an attempt to create competition in the journalistic space so that we're not getting the same worldview from every single reporter," Pool said. "Naturally, they're upset by the competition. But all I see is, with the new media personalities coming in, they're largely on the other sides of the political spectrum, but even then, they're not in complete agreement on everything." "I do think this is a great step forward in bringing in new voices with different perspectives, which is what diversity was supposed to mean," he continued. "It was an honor and a privilege." The "new media" seat has also been occupied by The Bulwark's Andrew Egger, Breitbart's Matt Boyle, podcaster Sage Steele, Rumble's Chris Pavlovski, X's John Stoll, Semafor's Shelby Talcott, The Daily Wire's Mary Margaret Olohan, "Breaking Points" co-host Saagar Enjeti, Townhall's Katie Pavlich, Merit Street Media's Lyndsay Keith, NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright, Matthew Foldi of the Washington Reporter, Punchbowl's Brendan Pedersen and Blaze Media correspondent Chris Bedford, among others. Reporters from outlets such as the AP, CNN, Reuters, ABC, CBS, NBC, USA Today, The New York Times, NPR, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and Fox News have assigned seats at White House press briefings, while reporters from smaller outlets stand along the crowded perimeter of the room. Leavitt explained why she has taken a different approach to the media during a May 5 appearance on "Hannity." "It's because President Trump has revolutionized media and the way Americans consume media. He started this on the campaign when he opened the campaign to social media influencers and podcasters, and he was willing to take that nontraditional media route. We've continued that effort at the White House," Leavitt said. Former Obama press secretary Jay Carney even praised Leavitt's changes to the White House press operation. "I think it's important to recognize the media landscape has changed, to bring in new voices, to shake things up," Carney said at an ROKK Solutions event last month when asked about the new media seat. "I think that's admirable," Carney continued. "Everybody can learn from that."
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Jen Psaki holds mock press briefing trashing 'MAGA spin' on White House questions
MSNBC's Jen Psaki appeared to mock White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with her own spin as press secretary for the Trump administration during her show on Friday. "I have noticed the White House briefing room has taken a bit of a bizarro turn lately. And I figured, what the hell, it's a Friday night. Why not dust off the cobwebs and field a few questions from the White House press briefing room today? Because it's been a while. Of course, I'm going to answer them without the usual MAGA spin," Psaki said on "The Briefing." The former White House press secretary used actual questions asked at Friday's press briefing and gave what she believed were proper responses in front of a fake briefing backdrop. One question included the New York Post's Washington correspondent, Steven Nelsen, asking about any details that could be shared about New York City Mayor Eric Adams' meeting with the president. "Eric Adams is visiting because he owes his current freedom to the guy sitting in the White House," Psaki said. "Let's stop pretending this is on the level, like where the relationship is between a president and a New York City mayor just coordinating city business in a normal course of events. I mean, even the judge who allowed the case to be dropped said that it, quote, smacks of a bargain." Psaki closed with a question about why President Donald Trump chose to fire the Librarian of Congress, suggesting racism may have played a part in firing a Black woman. "[W]hy did Trump abruptly fire Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, who has served in her position, I would note, since 2016 and was confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support in a vote of 74 to 18? Psaki said. "Well, I'm going to use a visual aid. Here's a picture of her. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on why Trump and his administration decided to fire Carla Hayden. Hope that was all clarifying." Psaki took over MSNBC's coveted 9 p.m. ET timeslot on Tuesday through Fridays this week with her show "The Briefing." The show debuted with 1.2 million viewers and 139,000 in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, but her second episode on Wednesday plummeted to just over one million total viewers and only 65,000 in the demo. MSNBC's newest program shed a staggering 53% of its demo viewers compared to the first episode only one day prior. Psaki's program also lost a whopping 67% of viewers between the ages of 18-49 after only one episode, as "The Briefing" averaged 113,000 on Tuesday and only 37,000 on Wednesday.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Leavitt Launches Angry Defense of Trump's Money-Making Schemes
Karoline Leavitt said it was 'ridiculous' to claim Donald Trump was seeking to profit from his presidency. The prickly press secretary hit out after claiming that questions from the media suggested there was an ulterior motive behind some of the president's actions. 'I think it's frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit,' Leavitt said at Friday's White House press briefing. '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.' Leavitt was angered by questions about the president's interest in meme coins and whether he planned to visit any Trump properties during his trip to the Middle East planned next week. 'The American public re-elected him back to this White House because they trust he acts in the best interest of our country and putting the American public first,' she continued. 'This is a president who has actually lost money from being President of the United States.' Leavitt claimed Joe Biden's press secretary was not asked similar questions doubting the integrity of the president. 'I don't remember these same type of questions being asked of my predecessor about a career politician who was clearly profiting off of this office,' she raged. 'That is not what President Trump does, and this White House holds ourselves to the highest of ethical standards.' Earlier, Leavitt reacted to a question about a money-spinning dinner run by MAGA supporters that offers people who buy Trump meme coins a chance to attend the event with the president later this month. Andrew Egger, The Bulwark White House correspondent asked: 'Karoline, the president posted another ad this week for his Trump meme coin. The group that's running that coin is encouraging people to buy in order to win a dinner this month with the President. Why is the president planning to attend a dinner for the top investors in his coin?' 'Look,' said Leavitt, 'the president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws. The president has been incredibly transparent with his own personal financial obligations throughout the years. 'The president is a successful businessman, and I think, frankly, it's one of the many reasons that people re-elected him back to this office.' Egger persisted, asking: 'There are at least some people who are buying this coin who seem to view it as an opportunity to influence the president's views. There was a logistics company this week that said they would buy $20 million in the coin in order to advocate for free trade between the US and Mexico. 'If buyers are buying for that reason, are they wasting their money?' he added. Leavitt replied: 'Look, I can assure you, the president acts with only the interests of the American public in mind, putting our country first and doing what's best for our country full stop. 'That's his intention, and that's what he's focused on.' Trump has more than doubled his estimated fortune, from $2.3 billion to $5.1 billion, in the past year, according to Forbes. Days before he was sworn in, he unveiled his $TRUMP digital token that recouped an estimated $350 million in trading fees and cryptocurrencies. Trump's Middle East visit encompasses three countries with Trump-branded projects. There is already a Trump golf course in the United Arab Emirates, and there are reported to be other hotel, residential, and golf course projects planned for Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
