'Who said that?' Leavitt erupts at reporter who asks if Gabbard is deflecting from Epstein
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard looks on during a press briefing, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
During her daily press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blew up at a journalist for suggesting that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had an alternate motive for releasing documents about former President Barack Obama.
Gabbard took the lectern in the White House press room Wednesday to further accuse Obama of manufacturing evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election, which Trump referenced earlier this week when asked about his continued refusal to release the DOJ's evidence on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (Obama fired back that the administration's claims were a "weak attempt at distraction" and that Russian interference was confirmed by then-Senator Marco Rubio in 2020).
After Leavitt began taking questions, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked if the embattled director of national intelligence was making her claims about Obama as a means of distracting from the Epstein fallout and improving her reputation with Trump. Leavitt appeared to take offense to Collins' question.
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"Who is saying that, that she would release this to try and boost her standing with the president? Who has said that?" Leavitt asked Collins.
"Well, the president publicly undermined her when it came to Iran, he said she was wrong, he told me she didn't know what she talking about," Collins said. "That was on Air Force One, on camera."
"The only people who are suggesting that the director of national intelligence would release evidence to try to boost her standing with the president are the people in this room, who constantly try to sow distrust and chaos amongst the president's Cabinet. And it is not working. I will just answer your question directly: I am with the president of the United States every day. He has the utmost confidence in Director Gabbard. He always has. He continues to. And that is true of his entire Cabinet, who is all working as one team to deliver on the promises this president made."
Leavitt's response piqued the interest of several journalists and commentators on social media. Mediaite editor-in-chief Aidan McLaughlin opined that the administration was wasting "an enormous amount of time and resources" on its claims about Obama and "moving from one fantasy to another." TikTok host Vince Wilson tweeted: "With how upset Karoline Leavitt got I would say there must be some validity to Collins' question."
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Watch the exchange below, or by clicking this link.
