Politics
Karoline Leavitt Takes The Gloves Off, Smacks Down Reporter’s Loaded Question: ‘Correct Their Stories’
Loaded questions by a member of the White House press corps were turned back around against the asker by Karoline Leavitt, who used the opportunity to chide news outlets for suggesting that President Donald Trump is going to receive a $400 million personal gift in the form of a new plane.
Trump last week announced that emissaries from Qatar had offered to donate a Boeing 747 that spares no expense in luxury living, from plush leather seats to monogrammed accoutrements, all matching the standards of wealth and royalty that the president likes to project.
Since then, multiple media stories have run a narrative that Trump’s “gift” is one that will benefit him personally rather than future U.S. presidents. But despite the clarification, a reporter on Monday asked Leavitt about a litany of concerns about the plane that have been raised by presidential security experts.
For instance, no timeline has been offered for when the U.S. will receive the aircraft, which was offered in response to complaints by Trump that U.S. military orders for a new Air Force One built by Boeing are two years behind schedule. Also unknown is how long it will take to “retrofit” the plane with a full medical suite, fully encrypted communications channels, and other customizations that make Air Force One a “flying White House.”
Third, the reporter asks in a viral video clip if intelligence officials have “weighed in about whether that plane can actually be secured to presidential standards.”
Leavitt made the most of the moment, whereas another White House press secretary may have deflected.
“I’m glad you brought up this questions, because I was watching the American press spew a lot of misinformation about the plane donation last week when we were abroad. Let’s be very clear: The government of Qatar, the Qatari family, has offered to donate this plane to the United States Air Force where that donation will be accepted according to all ethical and legal obligations,” she responded.
“It will be retrofitted to the highest standards by the Department of Defense and the Air Force. This plane is not a personal donation or a gift to the President of the United States, and everyone who wrote that last week should go and correct their stories, because this is a donation to our country and to the United States Air Force,” she warned.
WATCH:
The scandal threatened to overshadow what was largely a triumphant week for Trump in the Middle East. He secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand investments in Saudi companies doing business in America, and the work of Ambassador Steve Witkoff to secure Hamas’ release of its final American hostage even drew praise from far-left members of the media.
In addition to the donated jet, Qatari officials dealt Trump a $1.2 trillion economic win that will see Qatar Airways, the Middle East’s premier airline travel service, purchase $96 billion worth of 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X airplanes with GE Aerospace engines. A statement of intent signals that another $38 billion in U.S.-made defense goods may be purchased to fortify Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base and fill other maritime security needs.
“This historic agreement will support 154,000 U.S. jobs annually, totaling over 1 million jobs in the United States during the course of production and delivery of this deal,” a White House memo stated in announcing the deal.
