Latest / Gil I Am / Karoline Leavitt Today 4/1/25 on Faith, Politics, Press Briefings

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Karoline Leavitt Today 4/1/25 on Faith, Politics, Press Briefings · Gil I Am

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Caroline.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: Great to have you here a White House Press Secretary,
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: Caroline Lefeter, Great to have.
• 0:04
  Speaker 3: You, Great to have you, great to be with you.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: Thank you, David.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Let me ask you real quick. But here's the first question.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Okay, how much sleep do you get? Let's just get
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: right to the bottom line here. I mean, I'm going
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: four hours and I think that's high. I think it's less.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: What's the over under? What do you get in tonight?
• 0:19
  Speaker 4: Come on, Oh man, it's a little bit over Actually,
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: it's usually about five to six hours a night, is
• 0:25
  Speaker 4: what I'm doing, which is all we need. As President
• 0:28
  Speaker 4: Trump says, when you love your job and you love
• 0:30
  Speaker 4: your life, you don't need to sleep much. And that's
• 0:32
  Speaker 4: what we're doing when just working all the time. So
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: we're up early, we stay late, and we.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Don't sleep much. But we're having a lot of fun
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: here that you are.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Let's get right into it. The mom, the mom and
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: you right there you are. Yeah, we already talked about
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: White House Press Secretary. Hey, you're a mom first and
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: trying to juggle both. And I know you've talked about
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: the kind of how family's been helping out, which is great.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: What about just kind of from an emotional standpoint, kind
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: of dealing with this job which is twenty four and
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: mom life which can be twenty four to seven as well.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: How are you kind of dealing with that? I feel
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: like Oprah when I asked this, ques.
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's certainly challenging, there's no doubt about it. I
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: think every working mother understands the demands, and no matter
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: where you are or what you're doing, there is a
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: sense of guilt. You feel like when you're with your
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: baby you should be focused on your job, and when
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: you're at your job, you want to be with your baby.
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: So there's always that poll.
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: But just being present in the moment and prioritizing time
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: saying no when you have to say no to take
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: care of your family is something I've had to learn
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: the hard way in a very short amount of time.
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: But I spend every second that I possibly can with
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: my son when I'm home on weekends and evenings. I
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: try to make it home for bedtime as much as
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: I can throughout the week and savoring those very special
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: moments as well. And I'm very blessed to have a
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: great support system an a credible husband who's the best
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: father to our little son, and my mother who comes
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: to town quite often, and other help as well that
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: can be there to nurture and to be there when
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: I can.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Let me ask you, let's go down memory lane for
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: a second. Okay, you love your parents. Your parents, you
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: know they're hard working, blue collar I mean, it's a
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: blue collar family from a blue collar town. What did
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: that teach you? How did that shape you as to
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: who you are to being?
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: It definitely taught me the value of hard work. You know,
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: my parents aren't small business owners. Neither of them went
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: to college, and they worked very hard to earn everything
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: they had to provide for my brothers and me.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: You know, growing up, my dad was always working.
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: From seven to seven, seven days a week. Being a
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: business owner, you don't have days off. And so I
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: think that value of hard work and determination and drive
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: was instilled in me at a very young age just
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: by watching my parents work so hard to earn a living,
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: and it carried with me through college and then of
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: course now in my career as well.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Your Catholic education.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: You've talked about this before about how it shaped who
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: you are today.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Tell us about that.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: How so, because the Catholic education was very important your
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: Catholicism growing up, God Church very important to you.
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: Yes, my faith is incredibly important to me. I would
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: argue now more than ever, being in a role that
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: is very demanding and at times controversial, and there's a
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: lot of public pressure and discussion online about who you
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: are and your family, and you know, it could be
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: difficult for someone who doesn't have faith, but with faith,
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: all things are possible. And my Catholic education was a
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: privotal part of my upbringing. It definitely teaches discipline is
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: something you learn in Catholic schools. And then I obviously
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: went to a Catholic college as well, Saint Anselm in
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: New Hampshire, which not only drove my faith further but
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: also introduced me to the world of politics in news.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, how did you drive your faith further? You think
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: it's Saint Anselm. Do you have challenges there?
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: I guess yeah, I think so.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: And just being in a community that embraces faith and
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: talks about it openly and opened your eyes to it,
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: and also being around fellow students and peers who aren't
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: afraid to go to church on Sunday and talk about
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: their faith openly is something that I think is helpful
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: to anyone in their own faith journey.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about Saint Anselo for a second. All right.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: I would going through box scores of the college softball
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Saint Ansel's team. I was literally saying, I saw you
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: got a couple of home runs.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: They were very good.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: But here's the thing.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: I mean, you were in a lot of those games
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: and you were hitting well, you had some home runs,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: and the whole thing.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: I mean, you went there on a scholarship.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: Now you're in the rough and tumble world of politics.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Talk about that sports and politics. You could probably learn
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: a lot of life lessons about politics from sports. Tell
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: me a little bit about how that serves you maybe today.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: What one hundred percent?
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: The game of softball in sports prepared me for the
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: game of politics, no doubt about it. I was a
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: competitive athlete growing up, not just softball. I played field
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: hockey and played many different sports throughout my childhood, but
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: did go to Saint ansel on a softball schol and again, discipline,
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: hard work, teamwork, and also competing against yourself to be
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: the best that you can in athletics I think has
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: prepared me, especially for this job. Now you know, I
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: can have a good briefing, but the next day I
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: can go on television. I have to perform again, Right,
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: So every day is a new game in this job,
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: and I think, you know, being an athlete, my whole
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: life probably prepared me for this.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, let's talk about politics for a second. Your communication colleague,
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: Taylor Buddowitch said this about you. He says, Caroline, who's
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: been very complimentary. So Caroline has an iron stomach for
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Trump politics. And I was like, I've got to ask her,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: so what does that mean exactly? An iron stomach for
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: Trump politics.
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's very kind of Taylor to say. He's our
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: deputy chief of staff and he's doing a phenomenal job.
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: We have an amazing team here at the White House,
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: and we're all having a lot of fun together working.
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: We're with each other all day long, so it's very
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: good that we have a great team.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: You better like each other. Yeah.
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: As for the iron stomach, comminent, I mean, I think it.
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: It's a tough business politics, and you can't get knocked
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: down by what people say online or you.
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: Know, the negativity.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: You just have to know that you're doing your job
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: and doing it at the best of your ability and
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: speaking the truth, and that's what I try to do
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: every day.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, speaking about that criticism the press briefings, you know
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: the critics. Are you always be out for anyone really
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: behind that podium, Yes, but they obviously want to take
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: shots at you.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: And yet you guys are praying before.
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: Those prayer briefings. That's my understand. Those prayer briefings, those press.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: Briefings, they are prayer briefing.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they are.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: Well, tell me about the prayer briefing before the press briefing.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Take us inside, give us some color as to why
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: you wanted to do that and what that's like before
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: right before the door opens, if you will.
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: Sure, Well, before briefings, it's a little bit chaotic and
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: overwhelming because there's so much news to consume, and so
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: all morning long, my team and I are prepping, and
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: you know, I feel like sometimes an internal investment gative
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: reporter going around to all the policy experts and whomever
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: in the building, including the President himself, to get his
• 7:07
  Speaker 4: take on the news of the day before we go out.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: So I think that team prayer before is just a
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: moment to be silent and still and ask God for
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: confidence and the ability to articulate my words knowledge, prayer, protection,
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: and it is a nice moment to reset. It's the
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: last thing I do before I go out there, and
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: then it just gives me the confidence to.
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: Do a briefing.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: It's warfare out there.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: You know, in Christian terms, people will call what's happening
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: in our country.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Today's spiritual warfare?
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: Do you see it in those terms? Kind of good
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: vers evil out there? And you know that context, How
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: do you see that?
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: I certainly think I believe, I certainly believe in spiritual warfare,
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: and I think I saw it firsthand, especially throughout the
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: campaign draill with President Trump, and I think there certainly
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: were evil forces. And I think that the President was
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: saved by the grace of God on July thirteenth in Butler, Pennsylvania.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: And he's in this moment for a reason.
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: We're all here for a reason, and I think it's
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: a miraculous thing that has taken place in our country.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: Speaking about here for a reason, Let's talk about you
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: for a moment, because you and I go back to
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: when you were running for Congress and you win the primary,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: you lose the general, and you're wondering, now, what and
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: look at the now what look at the dot that
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: God has done. How do you see it in terms
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: of spiritual terms of your faith and how God has
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: been working this kind of for such a time as this.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: Well, certainly God has a plan for everyone.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: I believe that firmly, and you just have to trust
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: his lead and have faith that everything will work out.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: And when he closes a door, it's because he's opening another.
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: And for me, that was my congressional campaign. I aspired
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: to be a congresswoman and had a great primary victory
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: as you mentioned, and unfortunately lost the general election, or
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: should I say fortunately because it now led me to
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: this opportunity. And I wouldn't have worked on the President's
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: campaign as a spokeswoman if I was serving in Congress,
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: and then I probably wouldn't be the White House Press
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: secretary either.
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: So God knew what he was doing, I believe, And
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: you just have to trust the process and trust.
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: That he's working in your life and stay grounded in
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: your faith throughout the way.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: You're twenty seven, gen Z.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: There's a spiritual revival, it seems in this country right now,
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: especially in the youth.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: We've seen this at.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: College campuses all over the country. Really, what do you
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: attribute that to? Is there a spiritual revival going on
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: in America or at least wanting to begin in America?
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: I think so, especially amongst younger generations. You see the
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: videos of college students worshiping on their campuses, many students
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: getting baptized in the middle of their campus.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: It's a really beautiful site.
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: I think people are moving closer to God and hope
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: that I hope that they are.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: I pray that they do.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: Do you think President Trump is part of that in
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: terms of ushering in this renewal the spiritual revival some
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: of his policies and think do you think that kind
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: of goes.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: Hand in hand?
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: I would say so.
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: I think the President has been a great voice for
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: young people, and he believes in young people, loves young people,
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: and he's leading for them to leave our country better
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: off for future generations. His policies are uplifting all Americans,
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: but particularly you know, he wants young people to live
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: in a country where the American dream is renewed and
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: restored for them and their families and those traditional yet
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: common sense, basic American values that President Trump believes in,
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: faith and family and freedom. I think are starting to
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: resonate with a lot of young people across the country.
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: Talk a little bit about the White House Faith Office.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: I mean that's a big deal. There's been faith initiatives before,
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: there's been faith offices before, but to do it in
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: the West Wing, Yeah, that's huge. I mean, proximity is everything.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: Can you talk a little bit about the impact you
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: believe that Faith Office will have on policies not just
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: out of the White House, but in really every cabinet agency.
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: Pastor Paula White and her team are doing an amazing
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: job leading up the White House Faith Office, and the
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: President has entrusted her for many years.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: They've been close friends.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: But now again, as you said, the proximity to the
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: Oval Office and the leader of the Free world is
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: a promise President Trump made on the campaign trail, and
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: he has delivered on that promise. And we see Pastor
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: White in the West Wing all the time, past her
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: in the hallways, and just ran into her in the
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: ladies room the other day. She is amazing and she's
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: doing great work. She's brought in faith leaders not just
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: from the Evangelical community, but from the Catholic Church, the
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: Jews of the Jewish faith, Muslim faith all across the
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: country have ascended here at the White House for listening sessions,
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: and so that way they can go out to their
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: congregations and their churches across the country and spread the
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: word of this administration as well as the word of
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: God to their audiences. Which is the most powerful thing
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: I think that she can do is spreading the administration's
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: message in President Trump's agenda.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there are a lot of viewers that will watch
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: this who have seen some of the praise and worship
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: actually coming out of the White House.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I mean that she's doing.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: That, that's got to be pretty significant. The fact that
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: that's actually happening inside this White House, especially after the
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: last four years.
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: Definitely it's a big deal.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, let me ask you about the press. Obviously, let's
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: start with this. I mean, look, I mean you study
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: this not just in college, but after that, Look, the
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: truth of the matter is, I believe that we're in
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: the age of what I like to call the correspondent,
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: you know, a correspondent by day and a pundit by night,
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: and it's just not fair to the American people, Like
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: what are you exactly? And I'm just wondering do you
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: believe political journalism is dead in America today? How do
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: you feel about that?
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: I think there are true journalists out there that still exist,
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: they are few.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: And far between.
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: I think many people in the briefing room here are
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: trying out for their next big show, and unfortunately, it
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: seems the legacy media, the big networks in this country
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: promote individuals who are liberal and have a bias against
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: this president.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: There's no doubt about that. But the American people aren't
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: that anymore.
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: If you look at the ratings chart, liberal outlets are
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: dying and have been forced to restructure their newsrooms and
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: their audio or their lineup. The Washington Post we applaud
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: Jeff Bezos for the changes he's made because he was
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: no longer selling newspapers because of the liberal bias that
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: has had a choke hold on that paper in particular.
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: So I think the media has had to take a
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: look in the mirror, especially after President Trump's resounding victory
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: on November fifth, and the American public sent a very
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: strong message to the anti Trump media that we don't
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: listen to you. We believe in the truth and we
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: know that the President's policies were better for us than
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: the past four years under the Biden Harris administration. That's
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: why the American people re elected this president. And it's
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: an honor, frankly, to fight against some of those very
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: hostile media forces every day on behalf of the president
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: and truth.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: It's an honor. You say it's an honor because why
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: you believe that that? Well, I'll let you say why exactly,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: But what is that because you feel like truth is
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: going to prevail coming from that podium, or what's the
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: reason why you call it an honor?
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: I guess is my question?
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: Well, it's an honor that President Trump has entrusted me
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: and has the confidence in me to speak on his
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: behalf and on behalf of the White House. But it
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: is also an honor, as you said, to get the
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: truth out there and get the message of the White
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: House and this team out there and do it to
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: the best of my ability.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: So how do you go about like you're looking out
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: into the crowd there and the press, the crowd, the press.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: Briefing room and everything.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: I mean, how are you kind of deciding who you're
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: going to pick? You know, I mean, because you pick
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: different people. Some people you pick kind of routinely, but
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: other people you just kind of be around the room.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: How does that kind of work? Is that kind of
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: impromptu or what?
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: It's completely impromptu.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: Sometimes I'll know who will be sitting, particularly in the
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: front rows, based on who I've seen throughout the day.
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: In the morning, they come up to my office to
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: ask questions. But I just walk in there and pick
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: on whomever I feel compelled to choose, and you know,
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: we go from there.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: The reviews on you and even well there's always gonna
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: be critics, okay, but the friendly reviews and even people
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: that are luke warm on you say you're doing a
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: really good job.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: What is it? Why do you believe that is the case?
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Why do you think that you have arrived in this
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: moment for such a time as this, Like, what's going on?
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: What's the DNA behind all of that?
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: Well, it's a lot of preparation, and you know, I
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: don't just walk out there and start talking. There's a
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: lot of studying and reading in prep that goes into
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: the briefings in particular, and every day, even on non
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: briefing days. You know, it's constant reading and keeping up
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: with the news and talking to the president and understanding
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: where his head is out on the top issues of
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: the day.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: And it's a great team.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: We have an incredible team here at the White House,
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: and many of us worked on the campaign together, so
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: there's a bit of a battle rhythm to our movement here,
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: and having fun as well, and keeping it all in
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: perspective and not getting complay, and knowing that every day,
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: as I said, is a new game and a new challenge,
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: and just putting our best foot forward.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: When you call on reporters, are you already kind of
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: gaming out in your head?
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: Oh? Okay, I know where they're going to go today?
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Do you kind of think that through?
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: Oftentimes the questions are predictable. If you just look at
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: the ms DNC chiron, you'll know where some of the
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: reporters in that room are going to go.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: Let me read you something that Peter Baker from the
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: New York Times, I'm sure one of your favorites, has said,
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: But let me just read this real quick, and I
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: want to get your reaction. He says this about the
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: White House Press shop quote. It's clear they're sending a message.
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: If we write or broadcast something they don't like, we
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: can be punished by having.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: Access to the pool cut off. There's nothing subtle about it.
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: You say what to that?
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: That is utter fallacy and completely ridiculous. We have expanded
• 16:48
  Speaker 4: the pool to new voices, independent journalists, podcasters, social media
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: content creators, while continuing to invite legacy media outlets like
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: the one Peter Baker for the New York Times are
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: still in the briefing room, still have access to the
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: press pool, and we are going to continue to move
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: forward with this method. We have received thousands of applications
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: of legitimate independent journalists across the country who were never
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: respected by the White House Correspondence Association. And the privilege
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: of covering the President of the United States on Air
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: Force one or in the Oval Office should not be
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: granted by or chosen by a few elitist journalists in Washington,
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: d c. That privilege belongs to the American public. And
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: so we are ensuring that new media voices who are
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: responding to the media habits of the American people are
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: included in this process, and it's been phenomenally successful.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: I've never quite understood, you know, the White House Correspondence
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: Association is made a big stick about the Associated press
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: being kicked out of the pool, but there are other
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: White House Correspondent Association members.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: In the pool, like they're still in the pool.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they're in the pool.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: The reason the Associated Press has not joined us in
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: the Oval Office or bord Air Force one is because
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: we are in current a litigation battle with them in
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: court which they filed against us, which we don't believe
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: they have any base to do so because they still
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: have access to the White House complex. And there are
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: thousands of journalists who have access to the White House
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: complex who have never received the same privilege that the
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: Associated Press many other legacy outlets have going into the
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: Oval Office every time the President is a press conference.
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: And what gives one outlet the need or the right
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: to do that more than another.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: We want equal opportunity for all.
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: Of the outlets who are committed to covering this president
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: with accuracy and transparency, and that's what we're doing.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: You talked about the liberal media before you took this job.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: I mean you've been talking about the liberal media for
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: a while. Now that you've seen it up close, exactly
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: what you thought worse than you thought.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: What do you think, Oh man, that's a good question.
• 18:51
  Speaker 4: I think I've been dealing with them for quite some time,
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: so I knew what to expect coming into this role.
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: And I think you have to really focus to the
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: on the premise their question, because they will inject their
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: own bias into that premise, and you have to go
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: after that premise when they're asking questions.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: That's interesting, So going after the bias, kind of underseeing
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: that and be able to kind of filter through that,
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: that's what you're saying. Let me ask you just a
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: news of the day question, just one actually, and it's
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: about judges.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: We were talking to Alan Derschwitz the other day.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: He believes that these judges that are doing all of
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: these federal injunctions, district judges that are doing these federal injunctions,
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: are part of the resistance movement against Trump.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: Do you see it that way?
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: Absolutely?
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: Just look at the numbers the Trump administration we have
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: faced thus far in two months, more than thirty injunctions
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: by activist judges. The Biden administration in three years only
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: had fifteen injunctions. So we have doubled the amount of
• 19:51
  Speaker 4: injunctions that the Biden administration had in three years in
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: just two months. And why it's because you have judges
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: who are acting as activists behind the bench who don't
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: like President Trump. Almost every single one of them is
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: a registered Democrat, has been involved in Democrat campaigns or causes,
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: have donated to Democrat candidates. Some of them have even
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: put their anti Trump bias on social media. They have
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: not been shy about their hatred for this president in
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: his policies, and they are abusing their judicial power. They
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: are trying to overstep the authority of the executive branch
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: and the powers given to the president an Article two
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: of the Constitution.
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: Luckily for us.
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: And unfortunately for these judges, President Trump knows how to
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: fight back. He fought against witch hunts throughout the entirety
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: of his campaign.
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: He won court cases.
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: He fought off a weaponized justice system, and that's why
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: he's here to ensure this ends. And particularly with the
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: case against the Alien Enemies Act. In the president's use
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: of that authority which is granted to him by law,
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: it's completely absurd. You have a judge who is trying
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: to say the President of the United States cannot deport
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: foreign terrorists, illegal immigrants from our nation soil. If the
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: president can't do that, the American people are in a
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: lot of trouble. So a lot of these cases, all
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: of them are complete lunacy, and we're prepared to fight
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: back in court to continue pursuing the President's agenda. The
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: American people want the President to do exactly what he's doing.
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: He campaigned on all of these policies and promises, and
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: he's intent on delivering that.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: I know a lot of the headlines have been about
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: impeachment of these judges, but Article three goes right to
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: the core of the issue, which is that Congress has
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: the responsibility and through our Constitution, to estab establish and
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: regulate the court system. And I know some bills are
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: going through Congress right now, the Rogue Rulings Act and
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: things like that, where in essence, district judges may be
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: able to basically these laws would be able to take
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: district judges and say no, you're not going to do
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: federal injunctions or federal injunctions can only be limited to X,
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: Y and z. Where does the White House stand on
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: that type of movement.
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: The President has made it clear that he believes some
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: of these judges do need to be impeached because they
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: are overstepping their authority. And that's why we have three
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: branches of government. They are co equal branches of government
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: for a reason, checks and balances. That's what our founding
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: fathers intended. And they would be rolling over in their
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: graves if they saw some of these cases and some
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: of these judges who are being judicial activists rather than
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: true arbiters of the law and trying to stop the
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: President of the United States from executing his agenda.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: As we wrap up here, going back to my doctor
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: phil Hat here, has there been a rough day so far,
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: or maybe a day that you're really proud of, Like
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: there's something stick out so far in terms of something
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: that's gone on here at the White House for you
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: personally as White House Press Secretary.
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: There's been so many incredible moments. Certainly hard days and
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: long days and tiring days, but every day is a
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: good day. And I don't say that to be a punny,
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: it's just the truth. We're very blessed to be here
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: and to have this opportunity, and I'm very blessed to
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: work with a staff whom I love and many of
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: us are friends, and we have a great team and
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: working at the pleasure of a president who is fantastic
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: to work for and is funny and fun and is
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: having a good time while transforming our country for the better.
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: So we're on a great ride and we're enjoying it
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: very much.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: He's making history. But so are you.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: The youngest press secretary White House press secretary in the
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: nation's history. What message is that sending to women overall,
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: and also women that want to get into journalism or
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: at least pursue not just that career, but balancing mommy
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: life and work as well.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm just wondering from a historical perspective, you
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: are a trendsetter.
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: Well, I think it finally puts to bed the narrative
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: that Mark Cuban wanted to push that the President doesn't
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: surround himself with stag and intelligent women. That is a
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: fallacy of not only his appointment of me as Press secretary,
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: but our chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who's the first
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: female chief of staff in American his way, look at
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: the women who make up his cabinet, all serving as
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: great role models, many of them mothers, grandmothers, who are
• 24:07
  Speaker 4: doing this job at a very high level, and just
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: an honor.
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: To be here.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Two last questions, what gets you?
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: How do I say this not emotional, but what kind
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: of what really gets your goat as they like to say,
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: like what kind of riles you up? Whether it be
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: in life or on this job or something like, what's
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: You've got passion for a lot of different things. You're
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: America first, but is there something specifically that like, for example,
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: I know the whole Lake and Riley stuff, you know,
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: and just a lot of that.
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: I saw the emotion in your face with that. I mean.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: That really got to you, and I'm just curious, is
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: it that type of stuff?
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Like what is it exactly?
• 24:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I definitely believe the illegal immigration that we've seen
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: because I've watched as the President has met a lot
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: of these families throughout the campaign, and the President has
• 24:57
  Speaker 4: gotten to know them on a very personal level, has
• 25:00
  Speaker 4: taken out a lot of time to get to know
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: these mothers in particular who have lost their children, and
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: now as a mother as myself, I cannot imagine anything
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: like that happening, especially at the hands of someone who
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: should have never been in our country in the first place.
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: And it's very upsetting, I think to any parent to
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: see what has happened to our country. We all want
• 25:19
  Speaker 4: a safe and prosperous country for our children to live in.
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: And I'm just very proud to work for a president
• 25:24
  Speaker 4: who is determined to see that happen.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: That seems to weave right into your pro life views.
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: You're not playing around on the life issues. You're pretty
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: pretty solid on.
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: That, Yes, indeed.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: Last question, there's going to be a lot of articles
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: written about you. There already have been a lot of
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: articles written about you, and there'll be more to come.
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: They want to define Caroline Levitt. How does Caroline Levitt
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: define Caroline Lovitt?
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: Oh man? That's a very interesting What kind of.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Tree would you like to be?
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: Carolina oh Man?
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: I hope people just view me as a hard worker
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: who wants to get the job done and a good
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: mother and good my job. And I think that question
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: has yet to be seen. We've only been here two months, David.
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: We'll sit down again in four years.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Fair enough, Thanks Caroline, Thank you,