Leavitt accuses CNN reporter of trying to ‘push narratives’ during heated White House exchange

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clashed with reporters over inflation during Thursday’s briefing, accusing CNN’s Kaitlan Collins of trying to “push narratives.”

Collins pressed Leavitt to explain President Donald Trump’s apparent mixed messaging regarding the economy, saying at one time that it was booming while at other times recommending parents pare back on Christmas gifts.

“Inflation is down from where it was. As measured by the overall CPI, it has slowed to an average 2.5% pace,” Leavitt said as Collins began to try to interject.

“This is down from what the president inherited. The president inherited 2.9% in January. Today, it’s at about 2.5%, so we’re trending in the right direction,” Leavitt continued. “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%.”

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“In 10 months, the president has clawed us out of this hole, he’s kept it low at 2.5%, and we believe that number is going to continue to decline,” Leavitt added.

“Nobody is saying it wasn’t high under Biden,” Collins argued. “They’re just saying virtually [unchanged].”

“Nobody reported it on being high under Biden. My predecessor was standing up here 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,” Leavitt said.

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“My predecessor stood up at this podium and she said inflation doesn’t exist. She said the border was secure,” Leavitt continued incredulously. “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.”

Affordability has become a flashpoint heading into next year’s midterms, with Republicans now fine-tuning their messaging on the economy after a slew of Democrats won elections in 2025 running on a platform focused on lowering costs.

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Trump told Politico in an interview earlier this week that he would give his economy an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade, but a November Fox News national survey found that some 76% of voters reported they view the economy negatively, up from the 67% who reported the same in July, and up from the 70% who said the same at the end of former President Joe Biden’s term.

Fox News’ Alex Schemmel contributed to this report.