A clash between White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and a reporter over the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent has gone viral on social media.
Niall Stanage, the White House columnist for The Hill, introduced his question during a press briefing by referring to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s defense of ICE and that the agency was “doing everything correctly”.
He then referred to reporting 32 people died in ICE custody last year and 170 U.S. citizens were detained, and noted Minneapolis mother Renee Good was “shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent” this month, before asking: “How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?”
Leavitt responded: “Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?”
Stanage asked if she was wanting his opinion, which she affirmed. He then said: “Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably.”
Leavitt then accused the reporter of being a “biased reporter with a leftwing opinion” and a “leftwing 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,” she said. “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.”
Video clips of the encounter circulated widely on X, with a clip shared by the White House’s Rapid Response account garnering more than 1.5 million views.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
