White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and the leftwing White House press corps on Thursday after a combative line of questioning on the economy and inflation.
Collins pointed to comments President Trump made during a rally on Tuesday in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, where he joked that little girls “don’t need 37 dolls,” while pointing to the success of his tariffs on bringing steel production back to the United States and putting money back into Americans’ wallets.
“You know, you can give up certain products. You can give up pencils,” Trump said. “But you always need steel. You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter; two or three is nice,” he joked.
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But the dishonest CNN reporter took his words out of context and asked why the President was “telling parents two weeks before Christmas that they should only buy two or three dolls for their children.”
Leavitt told Collins that the President was simply encouraging people to buy “products made right here in America” and highlighted the decrease in inflation achieved by President Trump, as well as the low gas prices nationwide. “The President is digging our country out of the economic hole that the previous administration put us in, and that’s what he’s talking about,” Leavitt added.
But Collins shot back, claiming that inflation is not down from what it was under Biden, then attempted to continue pressing Leavitt with several questions in a row. Leavitt fired back and shut Collins down, stating, “My predecessor stood up at this podium, and she said inflation doesn’t exist. She said the border was secure! And people like you just took her at her word, and those were two utter lies.
“Everything I’m telling you is the truth backed by real, factual data, and you just don’t want to report on it, because you want to push untrue narratives about the President,” she continued before refusing additional questions from Collins.
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Collins: If the economy is as strong as the President has said it is, then why is he telling parents two weeks before Christmas that they should only buy two or three dolls for their children?
Leavitt: Look, what the President is saying is that if we want products made right here in America, if we want them to be made from American small businesses, which is a large part of the reason the President has effectively implemented tariffs, then we’re going to have better quality products right here in the United States. Maybe you’ll pay $1 or two more, but you will get better quality, and you’ll be supporting your fellow Americans by buying American, and that’s what the President was saying. Again, with respect to affordability, every economic metric, Kaitlan, and I wish you would report more on it, does, in fact, show that the economy is getting better and brighter than where it was under the previous administration.
I will repeat, inflation as measured by the overall CPI, has slowed to an average 2.5% pace. Real wages are increasing roughly $1,200 for the average worker. Gas prices are down in almost every single state across the country. Again, in 22 states, it’s below $2.75. You look at the tax cuts, those are going to go into effect next year. So, the best is yet to come. The President is digging our country out of the economic hole that the previous administration put us in, and that’s what he’s talking about.
Collins: Inflation is above where it was a year ago, as you know, and grocery prices have been up. So, we’ve covered the economy, but there’s mixed signals in terms of what that looks like. But—
Leavitt: Inflation is down from where it was. As measured by the overall CPI, it has slowed to an average 2.5%. This is down from what the President inherited into— the President inherited 2.9% in January. Today, it’s at about 2.5%, so we’re trending in the right direction with more to come. And I would remind you, when President Trump left office in his first term, inflation was 1.7%. And the previous administration jacked it up to a record high 9%. So again, in 10 months, the President has caught us out of this hole. He’s kept it low at 2.5%, and we believe that number is going to continue to decline, especially as energy and oil prices continue to decline as well.
Collins: They’re not saying it wasn’t high under Biden. They’re just saying it’s not virtually–
Leavitt: Well, nobody reported on it being high under Biden. My predecessor was standing at this podium, but now you want to ask me a lot of questions about it, which I’m happy to answer, but I will just add, there’s a lot more scrutiny on this issue from this press corps than there was—
Collins: The President is saying inflation is nonexistent.
Leavitt: And the previous administration said that too. My predecessor stood up at this podium, and she said inflation doesn’t exist. She said the border was secure! And people like you just took her at her word, and those were two utter lies. Everything I’m telling you is the truth backed by real, factual data, and you just don’t want to report on it, because you want to push untrue narratives about the President… I’m not going to take your follow up.
The post WATCH: White House Press Sec NUKES CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Leftist Media for Allowing Biden’s Press Secretary to Lie About Inflation and the Border with Impunity – “People Like You Just Took Her at Her Word!” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.