White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had a tense exchange with The Hill columnist Niall Stanage over the ICE-involved shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good.<\/b>
\nWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had a fiery clash with a journalist during Thursday’s press briefing, labeling him a \u00ab\u00a0left-wing activist\u00a0\u00bb over an exchange the two of them had over Renee Good.
Niall Stanage, The Hill’s White House columnist, began his question by pointing to the Trump administration’s staunch defense of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), citing stats showing \u00ab\u00a032 people died in ICE custody\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE.\u00a0\u00bb He also noting last week’s killing of Good, who was shot in what agents said was self-defense because she was using her car as a weapon.
\u00ab\u00a0How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?\u00a0\u00bb Stanage asked, referring to comments made in defense of ICE by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
\u00ab\u00a0Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?\u00a0\u00bb Leavitt asked.
\u00ab\u00a0Are you asking me my opinion?\u00a0\u00bb Stanage replied, to which Leavitt said yes. He added, \u00ab\u00a0Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0OK, so you’re a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion\u00a0\u00bb, Leavitt shot back. \u00ab\u00a0Because you’re a left-wing hack. You’re not a reporter posing in this room as a journalist. And it’s so clear by the premise of your question.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0And you, and the people in the media, who have such biases but fake like you’re a journalist \u2014 you shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat\u00a0\u00bb, Leavitt told Stanage. \u00ab\u00a0But you’re pretending like you’re a journalist, but you’re a left-wing activist. And the question that you just raised and your answer proves you’re biased. You should be reporting on the facts. You should be reporting on the cases.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Do you have the numbers of how many American citizens were killed at the hands of illegal aliens who ICE is trying to remove from this country?\u00a0\u00bb Leavitt asked. \u00ab\u00a0I bet you don’t. I bet you didn’t even read up on those stories. I bet you never even write about Laken Riley, or Jocelyn Nungaray, or all of the innocent Americans who were killed at the hands of illegal aliens in this country. And the brave men and women of ICE are doing everything in their power to remove those heinous individuals and make our communities safer.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0And shame on people like you in the media who have a crooked view and have a biased view and pretend like you’re a real, honest journalist\u00a0\u00bb, she added before moving on to another reporter.<\/p>\n