White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke to the press at a briefing on Tuesday, where she was, straight up, confronted by CBS News’ Chief White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes.
The reporter asked Karoline Leavitt if Trump was “making up” claims that Iran was about to attack U.S. targets in the Middle East to justify his war decision. Nancy Cordes asked Leavitt, “But there are no U.S. leaders or Israeli leaders who are making those same claims. So, is he making this up to justify his decision to go to war now?”
Leavitt: “The president is not making anything up, Nancy” pic.twitter.com/9mXQmQ2l2u
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 10, 2026
Leavitt’s eight-word reply to the reporter’s question was this: “The President is not making anything up, Nancy.” The White House Press Secretary then continued, “He is looking at this every single day based on intelligence, based on facts, and based on intelligence that he himself and his negotiators have consumed based on their, again, negotiations with the rogue Iranian regime over the past year.”
Justifying Trump’s stance, Karoline Leavitt went on to explain, “And the President and his team tried in a good-faith way to reach a diplomatic deal through peaceful means with the Iranian regime. And Iran chose this path of death and destruction. Iran wanted to attack the United States of America, and the President was not going to sit back and allow that to happen. He was not going to sit back and allow it to happen, and everyone in this room should be grateful for it.”
This wasn’t the sole moment that left Leavitt fuming. At the same briefing, the White House Press Secretary said that President Trump was being “harassed” by the New York Times. It started when a reporter asked Leavitt, “Why did Trump say yesterday that Iran may have Tomahawks when there are only three US allies, plus the US, that have those missiles?”
Trump mouthpiece Karoline Leavitt complains the White House is being “harassed” by the New York Times because they have the nerve to investigate and report on who was behind the tragic girls school strike. pic.twitter.com/G5afehktFV
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) March 10, 2026
To this, Karoline Leavitt responded, “Look, again, as the president said yesterday, he will accept the conclusion of this investigation by the Department of War. I know there’s been a lot of speculation in the media about who may be responsible for this. We’re not going to get ahead of the Department of War, and the conclusion of that investigation.”
Further slamming the New York Times, Leavitt said, “The president has a right to share his opinions with the American public, but he has said he’ll accept the conclusion of that investigation, and frankly, we’re not going to be harassed by The New York Times, who’s been putting out a lot of articles on this, making claims that have just not been verified by the Department of War to quickly wrap up this investigation, because The New York Times is calling on us to do so.”
Karoline Leavitt’s dig at the publication comes just a day after a New York Times correspondent, Shawn McCreesh, questioned Trump at a press conference on Monday. A memory refresher, in case one is needed. Trump was asked, “Mr. President, you just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school on the first day of the war, but you’re the only person in your government saying this. Even your Defence Secretary wouldn’t say that when he was asked, standing over your shoulder on your plane on Saturday. Why are you the only person saying this?”
Donald Trump’s response to the question posed was this at Monday’s conference: “Because I just don’t know enough about it. I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation. But Tomahawks are used by others, as you know. Numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us. But I will certainly, whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report.”
