Karoline Leavitt says 'Press wants to make President look bad' during briefing on Operation Epic Fury

In her first press briefing since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt got into a verbal spat with a CNN reporter when asked a question in relation to six American soldiers who lost their lives in the conflict. "Given what Secretary Hegseth said this morning, is it the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members?" CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked, referencing Hegseth's comment about the press wanting to "make the president look bad." 

Leavitt responded to Collins with an affirmative "no", adding, "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…If the Iranian regime had their choice, they would kill every single person in this room, and so we can all be very grateful that we have an administration and men and women in our armed forces who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for the rest of us."

When she was interjected by Collins, saying, "The Secretary was complaining that it was front-page news about these six service members who were killed," Leavitt said that no such statement had been made. "That's not what the Secretary said, Kaitlan, and that's not what the Secretary meant, and you know it. You know you are being disingenuous. The press does only want to make the President look bad. That's a fact," she said. 

During his briefing on Operation Epic Fury, Secretary of War Hegseth had accused the press of negative coverage. "They are terrorists after all and they need to target civilians, because they can't fight toe-to-toe. But we will find them, and we will kill them. This is what the fake news misses. We've taken control of Iran's airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front-page news," he had said, adding, "I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad – but try for once to report the reality."

The White House press briefing also saw Leavitt answering some tough questions, including whether the President believed that the country supported his actions. Responding, Leavitt took another dig at the press, saying, "I think the President knows the country is smart enough to read past many of the fake news headlines produced by people in this room that this action was unjustifiable," adding, "Again, this is a rogue terrorist regime that has been threatening the United States, our allies, and our people for 47 years, and the American people are smart enough to know that. They've also been smart enough to listen to the President himself—not just over the past year in this second term, but during his first term as President and also for the past 40 years of his life."