White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt lashed out at her predecessor, Karine Jean-Pierre, after she condemned Leavitt’s childish “Your mom did” response to a reporter’s questions.
During an appearance Tuesday on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, Leavitt was played a clip of the former Joe Biden White House press secretary calling her “deplorable” and saying the role “is not about doing online trolling.”
“With all due respect to my predecessor, she is one of the main culprits of the greatest cover-up scandal in American history,” Leavitt responded. “She took the podium every day and lied to the press about the incompetence of her boss—and on this book tour she continues to lie.”
“She said this past week that Joe Biden would still be up for the job if he had, God forbid, been re-elected in November. She also said this week, on a podcast, that Joe Biden did more press engagements than President Trump currently does. Any person across the aisle can tell you that is a bald-faced lie,” she added.
Leavitt has faced widespread criticism for her response to a question from Huffington Post White House correspondent S.V. Dáte about why a proposed meeting between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was being considered in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for Russia’s commitment to respect its existing borders under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, a vow Moscow has violated multiple times.
When Dáte asked Leavitt if Trump was aware why Ukraine might object to that proposed location, and who had suggested Budapest, the press secretary replied, “Your mom did.” Leavitt also accused Dáte of being a “far-left hack” who was asking “bulls–t questions.” Leavitt then bragged about her own response on a post on X.
The unnecessary remark was the latest example of the White House communications team engaging in try-hard trolling tactics and needless antagonism when interacting with the press.
Jean-Pierre, who is on a book tour promoting her memoir Independent—which details her decision to leave the Democratic Party and her frustration with the pressure on Biden to end his 2024 re-election campaign—condemned Leavitt’s remark during an appearance on The View earlier Tuesday.
“The White House press secretary is not about doing online trolling, right? It is not. It is an honor and a privilege to have that job,” Jean-Pierre said.
Leavitt continued her attacks on Jean-Pierre during her appearance on Fox News.
“I’m very proud to work for the greatest president in history. I know Karine unfortunately worked for the most incompetent president in history, so I guess she has a reason to be bitter,” Leavitt said. “But being bitter will not sell you books.”
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