White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday said journalists at mainstream media outlets bring “preconceived narrative and bias” against President Trump to the briefing room.
In an interview on the premiere episode of Fox News’s “My View with Lara Trump,” the president’s daughter-in-law asked Leavitt how she prepares to enter the briefing room when “you know you’re going to face some hostile media,” and “you know they’re coming for you.”
“Well, first of all, I look forward to it,” Leavitt told Lara Trump. “And I relish the opportunity to bring the truth and the facts to the podium.”
“Unfortunately, the mainstream media has been blinded by this bias, this anti-Trump bias,” she continued. “And it’s actually quite sad because rather than dealing with people who are truly interested in journalistic integrity and finding out the truth in the facts, they’re coming into that room with a preconceived narrative and bias.”
“The president speaks the truth. He speaks his mind directly,” Leavitt added. “It’s just my job to prepare and figure out what the truth is versus what the fake news narratives are, and then just bring that to the podium.”
The president, throughout his political career, has frequently accused media outlets of being biased against him, of reporting on “fake news” and of being an “enemy” of the American people.
Tensions between the White House and media corps have ratcheted up after the president banned The Associated Press from Air Force One and the Oval Office over its refusal to use the term “Gulf of America,” in reference to the body of water previously known in the United States as the Gulf of Mexico.
Dozens of media outlets have signed a letter pushing back on the decision.
Leavitt has defended the administration’s actions regarding the AP, saying recently, “If we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable.”
On the campaign trail, Trump rarely sat for interviews with mainstream media outlets, preferring conversations with podcasters, content creators and other internet personalities.
When entering office, the White House rolled out a new policy allowing opportunities for these so-called “new media” outlets and content creators to ask questions during press briefings.
