White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had a fiery exchange with reporter Kaitlan Collins over President Trump’s recent comments urging Americans to limit children’s holiday gifts this Christmas.
Collins pressed Leavitt on whether the president’s remarks contradicted his claim that the economy was recovering under his second term.
“Everything I’m telling you is the truth, backed by real, factual data,” Leavitt stated. “You just don’t want to report on it because you want to push untrue narratives about the president.”
When asked why the president would tell parents two weeks before Christmas they should limit children’s gifts to two or three dolls if the economy was as strong as he described, Collins inquired: “If the economy is as strong as the president has said it is, then why is he telling parents two weeks before Christmas that they should only buy two or three dolls for their children?”
Leavitt responded: “Look, what the president is saying is that if we want products made right here in America, if we want them to be made from American small businesses—which is a large part of the reason the president has effectively implemented tariffs—then we’re going to have better quality products right here in the United States. Maybe you’ll pay a dollar or two more, but you will get better quality, and you’ll be supporting your fellow Americans by buying American.”
She added that economic measures under the Trump administration had improved, citing inflation and gas prices. “So, the best is yet to come,” Leavitt said. “The president is digging our country out of the economic hole that the previous administration put us in, and that’s what he’s talking about.”
Collins countered that grocery prices have risen during the Trump administration.
When pressed further, Leavitt accused reporters of a double standard and noted their complicity with previous administration messaging: “My predecessor was standing at this podium,” she said. “Now you want to ask me a lot of questions about it? I’m happy to answer—but there’s a lot more scrutiny on this issue from this press corps.”
Leavitt continued: “My predecessor stood up at this podium and said inflation doesn’t exist. She said the border was secure, and people like you just took her at her word—those were two utter lies!”
A video of the exchange went viral on social media. Recent polling indicates a growing decline in public support for Trump’s economic policies as the pivotal midterm elections approach.
