Karoline Leavitt Drops Hammer on Reporters Defending Riots: “What a Stupid Question”

The final exchange exposed just how far some reporters were willing to go to downplay the violence.

Karoline Leavitt didn’t hold back in her first full White House briefing since riots broke out in Los Angeles. She opened with a clear message: what’s happening on the streets isn’t a peaceful protest.

“This is a violent uprising,” she said, pushing back on the way media outlets and Democratic leaders have framed the unrest.

Leavitt emphasized that President Trump remains focused on law and order—and that the chaos wouldn’t stop his immigration plans. “President Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history,” she said. “And left-wing riots will not deter him in that effort.”

Since June 6, over 330 illegal immigrants have been arrested in connection with the riots, including more than 100 with prior convictions. One is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly attacking police with a Molotov cocktail.

“These are not harmless demonstrations,” Leavitt said. “They’re dangerous and coordinated.”

“Law-abiding American citizens do not want these public safety threats living in their communities,” she added, “no matter what Democrats like Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom may claim.”

Leavitt confirmed the operation will continue. “This administration is going to continue the mass deportation effort that the President promised the American public.”

Her warning to violent actors was firm: “Any lawlessness will only strengthen this President’s resolve to defend the majority of Americans.”

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That’s when the media tried to shift the story.

Reuters reporter Nandita Bose floated a theory that the Trump administration’s response was just a distraction from the president’s ongoing feud with Elon Musk.

Leavitt was quick to shut that down. “That’s an incredibly disingenuous attack.”

She said the president acted after seeing Border Patrol agents and federal officers being attacked in the streets.

“He saw vehicles being burned to the ground with illegal aliens flying foreign flags, and that’s what prompted the president to have this response, that has clearly worked.”

Leavitt then turned her attention to California’s leadership. “I would add that the governor and the mayor need to actually do more,” she said. “I know Gavin Newsom had a big address to the nation last night—I guess he thought that’s what it was—for his future political ambitions. But he spoke a lot of words. We haven’t seen action.”

“California has been a mess for years because of the incompetence of Gavin Newsom.”

Next came CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, who questioned the use of National Guard and Marine deployments. Leavitt defended the decision, calling it necessary to restore order.

“Our United States Marines and the National Guardsmen and women, who are on the ground right now, are helping to create a peaceful environment for ICE and Border Patrol who were being hailed with rocks, who were being violently and viciously attacked,” she said. “They needed reinforcements.”

When Collins pushed on the legal justification, Leavitt fired back. “Again, you’re trying to conflate a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security to the president’s legal authority. The president understands the legal authority he invoked, and that’s the situation right now.”

Collins pressed again, but Leavitt pivoted. “The president was asked and answered this yesterday,” she said.

Then she brought the conversation back to the people affected.

“He wants law-abiding Californians to bring their kids to school, to be able to go to work, without seeing this violence in the streets. That’s what the president’s hoping for, and that’s why he’s taken this action.”

Despite the ongoing violence, reporters continued to frame the riots as misunderstood civil unrest. NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright asked what kind of protest the president supports.

Leavitt answered without hesitation. “The president absolutely supports peaceful protests. He supports the First Amendment, he supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard.”

But she drew a hard line: “He does not support violence of any kind. He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are trying to do their job.”

When Wright asked whether peaceful demonstrations would be allowed during a planned military parade, Leavitt didn’t sugarcoat her response.

“Of course he supports peaceful protest. What a stupid question.”

Wright looked visibly rattled by the exchange.

The final exchange exposed just how far some reporters were willing to go to downplay the violence.

As Leavitt recited the dangers that law enforcement officers have had to endure in the riots, a reporter interrupted her.

“So you’re saying the majority have not been peaceful? The majority have been violent.”

“I just read for you the arrest numbers,” Leavitt replied. “We’ve arrested nearly 400 illegal aliens alone, just illegal aliens that have been arrested in these riots since June 6th.”

The reporter replied that thousands had taken to the streets. Leavitt didn’t budge.

“Yeah, and we’ve had HUNDREDS of people who have assaulted law enforcement officers. Are you saying that’s appropriate behavior?”

The pushback ended there. But Leavitt wasn’t finished.

“The Democrat governor and the Democrat mayor of Los Angeles have failed their citizens. The majority of Americans, the majority of Californians, do not want to see law enforcement officers being assaulted in the streets.”

She closed with a firm statement of purpose.

“Thankfully, the president took action and stepped in to protect our law enforcement agents, to protect federal buildings, to protect the federal mission of deporting illegal criminals off of our streets. And that mission will continue every day as far as we’re concerned.”

By the end of the briefing, there was no confusion about where the administration stands. The line has been drawn—and it isn’t moving.

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