White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has slammed an Associated Press reporter’s conduct after the pair’s tense exchange over tariffs.
During a press briefing on March 11, reporter Josh Boak argued with Leavitt about whether President Donald Trump‘s tariffs are tax hikes or tax cuts.
The 27-year-old took the position that tariffs are ‘a tax cut for the American people’ and said Boak’s question was ‘insulting’ because according to her, he was ‘trying to test’ her knowledge of economics.
Leavitt joined Maria Bartiromo on her Fox News show ‘Sunday Morning Futures‘ when she doubled down on her fiery response, adding that Boak ‘clearly fails to see President Trump’s long-term economic strategy.’
She said Trump’s tariffs will ‘bring in so much revenue’ and ‘so much wealth into our country’ that the Republican party will be able to make good on its promise to pursue additional tax cuts.
‘[Boak] clearly didn’t understand that very simple idea,’ Leavitt said, before accusing the Associated Press and rest of the mainstream media of chasing viral moments instead of asking ‘tough questions with honest integrity.’
Leavitt’s comments come as the AP was banned from ‘pooled’ Oval Office visits and Air Force One trips after the news wire service refused to adopt Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Boak’s interaction with Leavitt did nothing to mend the relationship between the White House and the nearly 180-year-old news outlet.
Boak had asked Leavitt about an upcoming Trump speech to the Business Roundtable on that day, where he would later say his tariffs are ‘having a tremendously positive impact.’
‘He’s going there today as he’s proposing tax hikes in the form of tariffs. And I’m curious he’s not for why he’s prioritizing that over the tax cuts,’ the reporter asked, echoing business criticism that has crept into the discourse amid market jitters.
‘Not true – he’s not doing that,’ Leavitt interrupted the question.
‘Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that, again, have been ripping us off. Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the President is a staunch advocate of tax cuts,’ Leavitt told him.
‘I’m sorry. Have you ever paid a tariff? Because I have,’ the AP reporter tried to needle her. ‘They don’t get charged on foreign companies. They get charged on the importers.’
Leavitt started off her response by talking policy.
‘Ultimately, when we have fair and balanced trade, which the American people have not seen in decades. As I said at the beginning, revenues will stay here, wages will go up, and our country will be made wealthy again,’ said Leavitt.
Some economists have argued there could be downside risks, like higher inflation, slower growth, an escalating trade war, or even a recession.
‘And I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics and the decisions that this President has made. I now regret giving a question to the Associated Press,’ she said.
After twice delaying 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, once in February and once in March, Trump plans to resume the import taxes on April 2.
He has already hit China with first a 10 percent tariff, which he then doubled, bringing it to 20 percent.
As Trump’s frustration with the media heightens, his administration has sought to tighten who is let in to key press briefings.
In late February, Leavitt also announced that the White House itself would be choosing which outlets would be represented in the press pool.
This broke over 100 years of precedent, since the White House Correspondents’ Association, a group of journalists who cover the president, has been determining which reporters are given access since its inception in 1914.
