Critics say Karoline Leavitt's 'reckless dismissal' of new report 'reeks of desperation'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaking to reporters on March 17, 2025 (Joshua Sukoff/Shutterstock.com)
In an article published by the Washington Post on Tuesday afternoon, June 10, journalists John Hudson and Alex Horton reported that the Trump Administration — as part of its mass deportations programs — "is preparing to begin the transfer of potentially thousands of foreigners who are in the United States illegally to the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."
According to Hudson and Horton, "It is far from clear whether the facilities there can accommodate 9000 new detainees, an influx that would amount to a massive increase from the several hundred migrants moved to and from the base earlier this year. But Trump Administration officials say the plan is necessary due to a need to free up capacity at domestic detention facilities, which have become overcrowded amid President Donald Trump’s pledge to implement the biggest deportation of undocumented migrants in American history."
Hudson and Horton noted a Trump Administration memo that reads, "GTMO is not at capacity."
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But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is claiming that the Post's reporting is inaccurate and that the Trump Administration has no plans to use Guantánamo for deportees.
In a June 11 post on X, formerly Twitter, Leavitt wrote, "This story is Fake News. Not happening."
Leavitt's tweet is getting a lot of responses.
Radio host Thomas P. Logan tweeted, "More like, y'all got busted and now you have to back down."
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Sara Norton posted "Be a human being for a change. They are NOT sending hardened criminals to these prisons like felon Trump promised. Read what is going on. You make me sick by the way."
X user Richard Angwin posted, "Karoline Leavitt’s reckless dismissal of a credible Washington Post report reeks of desperation to shield Trump’s authoritarian overreach, further eroding any shred of trust in this administration’s propaganda machine.
In late January, Trump himself said he would sign an executive order authorizing the construction of a huge detention camp at Guantánamo Bay that would host as many as 30,000 migrants.
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