Karoline Leavitt took six weeks of maternity leave, had a newborn and a toddler at home, and walked back behind the White House podium Wednesday like she was returning from a long lunch. As USA Journal reported, CNN's Kaitlan Collins found out in real time that the briefing room had not gotten any easier while she was gone.
The whole thing started pleasantly enough. An English soccer fan named Ben Black was sitting in one of the media seats as a White House guest during the World Cup and asked what the administration hoped visiting fans would take away from America. Leavitt gave a perfectly reasonable answer: "I think the world saw that this President and this country is able to put on the greatest show in sports in the world, and we are a kind people." Nice moment. Wholesome even. Naturally the press corps could not let that stand.
NBC's Garrett Haake stepped up to suggest, as reporters are contractually required to do, that Trump is unable to "let go" of the 2020 election. Leavitt pointed out that tens of millions of Americans share concerns about election integrity and that the media has spent years pretending those people do not exist. She then previewed the president's primetime address by saying, "We should have the safest and most secure elections in the history of the world. What the president will be speaking about tonight will show you that perhaps that is not the case."
Then came Collins with the question she had apparently been polishing all morning: if Trump has evidence of election fraud, why hasn't anyone been charged after 540 days in office? The question kind of answered itself, but Leavitt walked through it anyway. He hasn't declassified the documents yet. That is what the speech is for. Everyone will see it at 9 PM on national television, including Collins, who could simply watch it like the rest of the country instead of trying to get a sneak preview.
Collins pushed further, asking whether the Justice Department would be making announcements that night. Leavitt shut it down cleanly: "I don't speak for the Justice Department, Kaitlan, and you know that." Next question. That was it. Four words and a first name, delivered with the energy of someone who has changed enough diapers recently to be completely unbothered by a mess.
The whole exchange was a masterclass in not accepting the premise of a question. Collins came in with the framework that the speech was already illegitimate before it had been delivered and that evidence does not count unless it has already produced criminal charges. Leavitt simply declined to play on that field, gave the facts without apology, and moved on.
Say what you want about the current White House press operation, but they do not get rattled. Leavitt came back from maternity leave with two kids under two and handled the briefing room like it was the easier part of her day. Which, having spent six weeks with a newborn, it very possibly was.
Welcome back to the podium. CNN will need to come up with better material before the next one.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
