Category: Press Briefings

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Sep. 9, 2025

Thanks for being here. Another packed room — it’s good to see. We’ll begin with a scheduling update today. President Trump will commemorate the 24th anniversary of 9/11 on Thursday with a visit to the Pentagon Memorial in the morning, followed by an appearance at the New York Yankees game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Thursday evening. Next week, as you all know, the President and the First Lady will depart for their historic state visit to the United Kingdom on Tuesday, and they return to Washington on Thursday.

Today, I would like to address the tragedy that has not received nearly enough media attention — the brutal murder of Arena Zerutka. Here are the facts that many outlets have shamefully and intentionally failed to report until President Trump drew attention to it. On August 22nd, Arena Zerutska was stabbed to death on the rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina, by a savage career criminal. This is a public transportation system that many in the area use every single day to go to school and work. Continue reading “Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Sep. 9, 2025”

Press Briefing By Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt-August 28, 2025

Good afternoon. Good to see all of you. I want to begin today’s briefing by addressing the horrific shooting that took place yesterday at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where a deranged shooter opened fire during morning Mass, killing an innocent 8-year-old and 10-year-olds. Fourteen other children and three adults were also injured during this horrible tragedy.

This was the first morning Mass of the school year for these beautiful, innocent children, and this sacred religious service was desecrated by an evil monster. We are all eternally grateful to the heroic law enforcement officers and first responders whose courage and swift response aided all of those impacted by this horrible tragedy. Continue reading “Press Briefing By Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt-August 28, 2025”

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Aug. 19, 2025

Karoline Leavitt: Good afternoon, everybody. How are you? Good to see all of you.
What we’ve witnessed President Trump accomplish over the last few days has been nothing short of remarkable. We are now three and a half years into the war between Russia and Ukraine, a brutal conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives and cost trillions of dollars. The weakness and incompetence of Joe Biden foolishly allowed the killing to start in the first place—until President Trump returned to office in January.

The bloody and broken Biden status quo was to endlessly force American taxpayers to fund Ukraine—no matter the cost, no matter how long it takes, and no matter how many lives were lost. There is no denying that Biden’s America-Last foreign policy moved the world further away from peace. Continue reading “Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Aug. 19, 2025”

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Aug. 12, 2025

Karoline Leavitt: Good afternoon, everybody.
The Press: Good afternoon.
Karoline Leavitt: Good to see all of you here again today.

On Friday morning, President Trump will travel across the country to Anchorage, Alaska, for a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The brutal war between Russia and Ukraine broke out under Joe Biden’s incompetent leadership, but President Trump is determined to try and end this war and stop the killing. As the President has said over and over again, his strong preference will always be for peace and partnership whenever those outcomes can possibly be achieved.

There is no leader in the world right now who has been more committed to preventing wars or ending them than President Donald Trump. Just look at what took place here at the White House last Friday when President Trump hosted the Azerbaijani President and Armenian Prime Minister and got the two leaders to sign a historic joint declaration for peace, ending a decades-long conflict that disrupted the region and claimed countless lives. Continue reading “Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Aug. 12, 2025”

President Trump Holds a Press Conference, Aug. 11, 2025

Trump: Wow. I’ve been up here a lot. I’ve never seen a crowd like this. I think we need a ballroom, and that’s happening. It’s going to be a beautiful ballroom. This is really a lot of people—most I’ve ever seen in this room.

And we’re here for a very serious purpose. Very serious purpose. Something’s out of control, but we’re going to put it in control very quickly, like we did on the southern border.

I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor—and worse. This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back. We’re taking it back.

Under the authorities vested in me as the President of the United States, I’m officially invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act—you know what that is—and placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control. You’ll be meeting the people that will be directly involved with that. Very good people, but they’re tough, and they know what’s happening. They’ve done it before. Continue reading “President Trump Holds a Press Conference, Aug. 11, 2025”

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, July 31, 2025

Karoline Leavitt: Good afternoon, everyone.
The Press: Good afternoon.
Karoline Leavitt: We have a lot of news today, and I have quite a few announcements for you, so let’s get to it.

First, on behalf of the President and the White House, we express our deepest condolences to the family of New York Police Officer Islam, who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of his fellow New Yorkers. As the funeral services are held in New York City today, everyone at the White House is keeping the officer’s family, friends, and fellow NYPD law enforcement officers in our thoughts and prayers. The President has always—and will always—proudly stand with our men and women in blue. May God bless Officer Islam and the other individuals who were tragically killed in this senseless act of violence. Continue reading “Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, July 31, 2025”

President Trump Gaggles with the Press on Air Force One, July 29, 2025

The President: Hello, everybody. I hope you had a good time in beautiful Scotland. Did a lot of work with the European Union, and yesterday I spent pretty much a whole day with the Prime Minister of the UK, and we had a lot of good discussions. Although I see something came up today, which is interesting. So, go ahead. Hello.

Reporter: Hi, Mr. President. [inaudible]—can we ask about that [inaudible] on Gaza? Keir Starmer has just announced the UK will recognize Palestinian sovereignty in September if Israel does not commit to a ceasefire, ease the suffering in Gaza, and commit to a long-term solution that would deliver the two-state solution in the Middle East. Did you know that was coming? What did you discuss? Continue reading “President Trump Gaggles with the Press on Air Force One, July 29, 2025”