White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has falsely claimed Donald Trump invented the phrase “drill, baby, drill”—despite it having been popularized by Sarah Palin almost 20 years ago.
Leavitt, 28, made the wild assertion about the president during her media round on Monday. While promoting the administration’s energy push, and pointing to Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s agenda, she told Fox News that Trump had “made up the slogan.”
Trump, 79, has leaned heavily on the phrase across his second-term messaging, including in his Jan. 20 inaugural address, when he declared: “We will drill, baby, drill.”
But the slogan wasn’t born with him at all.
It actually dates back to the 2008 Republican National Convention, where Michael Steele, the former Maryland lieutenant governor, delivered the line in a speech captured by C-SPAN.
Weeks later, Palin—now 61—helped cement it as a campaign-era catchphrase during the Oct. 2, 2008, vice presidential debate, while she was John McCain’s running mate.
“The chant is ‘drill, baby, drill,’” Palin said.
At the time, the Alaska governor drew wall-to-wall coverage, massive crowds, and an instant mythology that became a feature from cable news to late-night comedy.
She also became a magnet for viral lines that blurred into parody. In a September 2008 ABC sit-down, Palin said of Russia, “They’re our next door neighbors. And you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
Days later, Tina Fey’s “Saturday Night Live” impression delivered the line that stuck in the public imagination—“I can see Russia from my house!”—which was debunked by Snopes in 2011 as something Palin never actually said.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Leavitt and the White House for comment.
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