White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clashed with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday during a press briefing, cutting off the reporter twice as tensions escalated over questions regarding the release of Signal text messages by Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
The confrontation occurred just one day after a similar incident where President Trump himself shut down Collins when she attempted to ask a follow-up question about the same issue.
On Wednesday, Leavitt was responding to reporters’ inquiries when Collins raised the matter of how the administration had handled the disclosure of sensitive communications from Trump’s national security team.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clashed with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday during a press briefing, cutting off the reporter twice as tensions escalated over questions regarding the release of Signal text messages by Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
The confrontation occurred just one day after a similar incident where President Trump himself shut down Collins when she attempted to ask a follow-up question about the same issue.
On Wednesday, Leavitt was responding to reporters’ inquiries when Collins raised the matter of how the administration had handled the disclosure of sensitive communications from Trump’s national security team.
“Does the president feel that he was misled by his national security advisers, whoever it was that told him there was no classified information in there now that he’s seen these messages?” Collins asked.
Leavitt, appearing visibly irritated, responded sharply, saying, “I have now been asked and answered this question three times by both of you.”
She added, “And I have given you my answer. The president feels the same as he did yesterday.”
Despite this, Collins attempted a follow-up question. Leavitt quickly cut her off, saying, “I am not taking your follow-up,” and proceeded to call on another reporter.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clashed with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday during a press briefing, cutting off the reporter twice as tensions escalated over questions regarding the release of Signal text messages by Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
The confrontation occurred just one day after a similar incident where President Trump himself shut down Collins when she attempted to ask a follow-up question about the same issue.
On Wednesday, Leavitt was responding to reporters’ inquiries when Collins raised the matter of how the administration had handled the disclosure of sensitive communications from Trump’s national security team.
“Does the president feel that he was misled by his national security advisers, whoever it was that told him there was no classified information in there now that he’s seen these messages?” Collins asked.
Leavitt, appearing visibly irritated, responded sharply, saying, “I have now been asked and answered this question three times by both of you.”
She added, “And I have given you my answer. The president feels the same as he did yesterday.”
Despite this, Collins attempted a follow-up question. Leavitt quickly cut her off, saying, “I am not taking your follow-up,” and proceeded to call on another reporter.
Collins tried again, but Leavitt was firm in her stance, saying more sternly, “Kaitlan, I am not taking your follow-up.”
Other reporters present also attempted to ask follow-up questions on the same topic but were similarly shut down by Leavitt during the briefing.
The confrontation highlights a growing tension between the White House press team and Collins, who has had several contentious exchanges with the administration in the past.
Last month, Leavitt and Collins butted heads when Collins asked for evidence to back President Trump’s claims that pardons issued by Joe Biden were invalid due to the use of an autopen.
The Signal texts in question were released by The Atlantic on Wednesday, revealing detailed exchanges among senior officials from the Trump administration.
The texts highlighted minute-by-minute discussions surrounding military operations and the specifics of weaponry used in recent strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The newly revealed messages stand in direct contradiction to earlier White House statements, which denied that classified information had been compromised in the incident involving the messaging app Signal.
Goldberg shared additional portions of the conversation, specifically from a group labeled “Houthi PC small group channel,” which contained sensitive details about military plans for a March 15 operation.
Goldberg expressed concern that, had the texts fallen into the wrong hands, the Houthis could have prepared for the surprise attack, potentially jeopardizing national security.
“If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests — or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media — the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds,” Goldberg wrote, highlighting a message authored by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
