White House Press Secretary Clashes with Reporter Over Economic Knowledge

 

White House Press Secretary Clashes with Reporter Over Economic Knowledge

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt clashed with Associated Press reporter Josh Boak over what she deemed a "demeaning" question attempting to test her economic knowledge.

During the exchange, Boak asked about Donald Trump's speech at the Business Roundtable Quarterly Meeting, which was scheduled to take place after the White House press briefing. Boak noted that despite Trump previously promoting tax cuts during his last Business Roundtable meeting in 2024, he is now pushing for "tax increases" through tariffs.

Levitt took issue with the question, interrupting Boak to say, "That's not true." Boak responded, "I'm wondering why that takes precedence over tax cuts," to which Levitt replied, "He's not doing that. In fact, he's not implementing tax increases. Tariffs are a tax increase on foreign countries that, again, have taken advantage of us. Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the president is a strong supporter of tax cuts."

Levitt added, "As you know, he's committed during his campaign not to impose taxes on tips, not on overtime work, and not on Social Security benefits. He's committed to those three things, and he expects Congress to pass them later this year."

Boak countered, "I'm sorry, have you paid a tariff? Because I have. It's not imposed on foreign companies; it's imposed on importers."

Levitt responded, "Ultimately, when we have fair and balanced trade, which is something the American people haven't seen in decades, as I mentioned earlier, the revenue will stay here, wages will go up, and our country will become wealthy again."

She concluded, "I think it's demeaning to try to test my economic knowledge and the decisions made by the president. I regret hearing a question from Associated Press."

The exchange highlights the tense relationship between the Trump White House and Associated Press, which has been barred from entering the White House and Air Force One due to its refusal to use the term "America's Gulf" instead of "Gulf of Mexico".

Lauren Easton, Associated Press spokesperson, criticized the decision in a statement on Fox News Digital in February, saying, "Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of American democracy and a fundamental value to the American people. The White House has affirmed its support for these principles."

Easton added, "The actions taken to restrict Associated Press' coverage of presidential events, due to our reference to a geographic location, undermine this important right guaranteed in the United States Constitution for all Americans."

#WhiteHouse #PressSecretary #EconomicKnowledge #AssociatedPress #TrumpAdministration

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