Many perverse things come with living under the second Trump presidency, but having to pretend to take Karoline Leavitt seriously is right at the top. Leavitt was apparently born without a sense of shame, able to spout hateful lies all day while professing to be a committed Christian.
And yet, the journalists in attendance at what passes for White House press briefings these days are forced to act like everything’s totally normal and that the lunatic at the podium in front of them isn’t living in a fantasy world.
But sometimes, rarely, reality peeks through a crack in the curtains. Yesterday, British journalist Niall Stanage asked what, in any other circumstance, would be a softball question:
Mad props to the reporter who made Karoline Lie-vitt flip out when he confronted her with the truth about how Renee Good died.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) January 16, 2026
This was EPIC.
Free beers for life. pic.twitter.com/DDcefxLtm7
“You were just defending ICE agents generally. Earlier on Secretary Noem spoke to the media and she said, among other things, that they are doing everything correctly. 32 people died in ICE custody last year, 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE, and Renee Good was shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent. How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?”
Sure, it’s a very pointed question, but then an administration sending a murderous group of government thugs to harass, brutalize, and murder regular Americans probably should face a bit of scrutiny.
Leavitt immediately went on the defensive, asking Stanage for his opinion on why Good was killed (not really how a press briefing works, but whatever). He responded: “In my opinion? Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably.”
“You’re a left-wing hack! You’re not a reporter!”
Even if you believe the false Trump version of events, this is literally what happened. Even if you believe that Good really had hit ICE agent Jonathan Ross with her car (and c’mon, she clearly didn’t), his opening fire at close range is the dictionary definition of reckless, and her death is unjustifiable by ICE’s own standards.
Look mister, there’s no room for facts and objective reality in this press conference! And so Leavitt promptly went bananas:
You’re a left-wing hack! You’re not a reporter! You’re posing in this room as a journalist and it’s so clear by the premise of your question! And you and the people of the media who have such biases but fake like you’re a journalist, you shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat! But you’re pretending like you’re a journalist but you’re a left-wing activist! A-and the question that you just raised – and your answer – proves your bias!”
Yeah, god forbid journalists ask questions when an administration starts blowing the heads off innocent women. Trump is pushing eighty and will almost certainly escape justice for his actions. We can only hope Leavitt sticks around for many years to come, so one day we can all enjoy the uplifting sight of her reaping what she’s currently so gleefully sowing.
Published: Jan 16, 2026 07:42 am