White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took her first question from a member of the “new media” in the White House briefing room on Friday, fielding a question from John Ashbrook, a co-host of the right-leaning “Ruthless” podcast.
Duncan took the opportunity to ask a question similar to the podcast’s commentary. “In your first briefing, the media went after this administration for reporting illegal immigrants they claimed were not criminal is,” Duncan said. “My question is, do you think they’re out of touch with Americans demanding action on our border crisis?”
Related: Karoline Leavitt Invites ‘New Media’ to Apply for Access to White House Briefings
Leavitt responded in the affirmative, saying, “I think the media certainly is out of touch.” She also cited an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Statistic that indicated 97% of the immigrants deported by the Trump administration in January had been given deportation orders by the Biden administration, which that administration declined to enforce. Leavitt said the statistic showed “that the previous administration was actually defying our laws,” while the Trump administration was “simply following” immigration law.
Department of Homeland Security figures indicate the United States has deported more than 7,300 illegal migrants since Trump took office on Jan. 20. The number includes individuals removed by ICE as part of wide-scale efforts that began on the country’s interior during the Trump administration, in addition to individuals apprehended by Customs and Border Protection as they attempted to enter illegally.
Ashbrook, a co-host of “Ruthless” alongside Josh Holmes, Michael Duncan, and Shashank Tripathi — better known by his social-media persona “Comfortably Smug” — was the first beneficiary of a policy by the Trump administration to invite less traditional members of the media to briefings at the White House. Leavitt said the administration had received more than 10,000 submissions “from individuals across the country” seeking to participate since the program opened two days earlier.
You can watch Leavitt’s exchange with Ashbrook above.