Transcription
White House press secretary Carolyn Levit just wrapped up her first press briefing in the aftermath of the second brutal murder of an American citizen in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the hands of the Trump administration. And knowing that the backlash is ever-increasing and that Trump's approval and polling are cratering and even Republicans are coming out against it, it was up to Levit to try to spin the narrative, reclaim the narrative in Trump's favor. And she failed miserably as you're about to see.
But before we unpack all that, if you end up liking this video and you want to support the channel, please be sure to hit the like, subscribe, and alert bells before you go. So far, I think this was the ultimate test of Carolyn Levit in terms of her White House press briefings because this is probably the biggest political crisis I can think of acutely that the Trump administration has faced thus far and she failed to meet the moment. Check it out.
>> I would also like to address the chaotic scenes in Minnesota over the weekend. Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Prey, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals. Saturday's shooting remains under active investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI. The Customs and Border Protection is also conducting their own internal review. As President Trump said yesterday, the administration is reviewing everything with respect to the shooting and we will let that investigation play out. But let's be clear about the circumstances which led to that moment on Saturday. This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota. For weeks, Governor Waltz and the mayor, Jacob Fry, and other elected Democrats were spreading lies about federal law enforcement officers who are risking their lives daily to remove the worst criminal illegal aliens from our streets. Murderers, rapists, pedophiles, human traffickers, and gang members.
>> You're describing the Epstein files, the people in the Epstein files, and Donald Trump, of course, has deliberately uh attempted to prevent the release of the Epstein files. So no one no one believes that he cares about pedophiles or sex traffickers or things of that nature in terms of holding them to justice. And that's not why Alex Prey was killed. Alex Prey was killed by trigger-happy fascistic thugs under the Trump administration simply wanting to viciously attack anybody who would monitor them or criticize them. That's what this is about. Governor Waltz and Mayor Fry have shamefully blocked local and state police from cooperating with ICE, actively inhibiting efforts to arrest violent criminals. They have also used their platforms to encourage left-wing agitators to stalk, record, confront, and obstruct federal officers who were just trying to lawfully perform their duties, which has created dangerous situations threatening both these officers and the general public and Minnesotans alike. This is precisely what unfolded in Minneapolis on Saturday morning. Obstructing federal law enforcement and inciting violence against officers is wrong and illegal.
>> But that's not what Governor Waltz or Mayor Frey have done. There's no evidence of that. They would need to provide evidence. What happened was a bystander who acted peacefully with his cell phone out recording border patrol and ICE agents, which you have every constitutional right to do, was viciously attacked. He was lawfully carrying a gun that he was lawfully permitted to have. Again, his right. And he could go wherever he wanted in Minnesota with respect to the public and have that gun on him. He never reached for the gun. He never brandished the gun. The gun was removed from his person before he was shot to death. And the agent who shot him to death saw the gun being removed. So this is black and white textbook. Prey was 100% innocent. The Trump administration is 100% to blame. And Carolyn Levit can't wiggle out of that. She's once again she's trying to, you know, reclaim the narrative and spin this in Trump's favor, but she can't stop doing what Trump's reflex is, which is to attack. Yet, Democrat leaders in Minnesota with sanctuary city policies have actively defied federal immigration law and the will of the people. And as a result of that defiance, two Minnesotans have now tragically lost their lives on the streets of Tim Waltz's state.
>> So again, she's blaming the Democrats. The polls. Listen, again, I I'm certain of very little and there's no doubt that Trump is graded on a curve and given the benefit of the doubt. But folks, I'm telling you, this is one political battle that Trump and Levit will never win. They've lost. They've lost badly. It's not even close. There's no attempt to spin this in favor or or rather blame this on the Democrats that will work out in Trump's favor. It's Trump's fault. It's the Trump administration's fault, and the Democrats are blameless. It is President Trump's hope and wish and demand for the resistance and chaos to end today. That's >> that's up to him. He needs to give the order to ICE and Border Patrol to behave differently, to do things differently. We'll see what happens. Now, again, it's Carolyn Levit. So, you have the attack, you have the spite, and you also have lies like this.
>> Americans overwhelmingly want exactly what President Trump is delivering. It's just not true.
>> Strong borders and strict immigration enforcement against the worst illegal aliens.
>> That's not what's happening. And he's underwater in every [ __ ] poll. Again, you guys have just lost the PR battle on this. You've just lost. Immigration and the economy were two of Trump's biggest strengths, perhaps his only big strengths going into the second term. And in a year's time, he has totally squandered that political capital. The American people do not want, objectively do not want what Trump is doing, and you know it, which is why you're so damn nervous and desperately trying to reclaim the narrative. But no amount of gaslighting will work here. The American people are not with you.
>> Aliens, of which there are still hundreds of thousands to deport from the interior of our country. The most peaceful way to carry out this vital public safety mission is for Republicans and Democrats to do it together. And for state and local law enforcement to work together with federal law enforcement, we want to let cops be cops.
>> Cooperation has to cut both ways, Carolyn. The Trump administration isn't going to get everything it wants there. These states are sovereign states as well. There's such a thing as states' rights. If you want the Minnesota government to better cooperate with you, then you must give as well. You're not going to get everything you want. You don't deserve to get everything you want. And states have the right to refuse to cooperate with you to the extent that you want. And that doesn't give you or your administration the right to murder American citizens in response. And if Trump were a better [ __ ] leader, he'd be able to successfully negotiate with Minnesota and other states to get his agenda accomplished. But what they mean by cooperation is give us whatever we want. No. [ __ ] you.
>> Thank you for being here.
>> Thank you, Caroline. Uh Jordan Conrads with Gayway Fund. I have a few questions. First, with respect to the shooting in Minneapolis. We're seeing massive outrage from the mainstream media and the left. But I'm I'm just wondering where was that outrage when Ashley Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was executed by Capitol Police Officer Michael Bird, who she posed no threat to in the U.S. capital.
>> Well, you raise a very important point which I also believed that I just raised as well in those opening remarks in that there has no doubt been selective outrage by the liberal biased media in picking and choosing victims uh and highlighting their stories. And as I've said, President Trump does not want any Americans to lose their lives in the streets of America.
>> But that's exactly what's happening on his watch. So that guy is a right-wing [ __ ] um who was asking about Ashley Babbitt, who was an Air Force veteran who attended the January 6th insurrection. She was a violent insurrectionist. She attempted to break into um a chamber in which Congress people were being sequestered and protected by Capitol police. She was warned repeatedly not to break through the barrier. Uh the crowd was wanting to physically attack members of Congress. They were chanting, "Hang Mike Pence." They were threatening members of Congress. She was warned repeatedly and she was shot. There was a formal investigation and the officer was cleared. It was registered as a justifiable homicide, a justifiable righteous shoot. And that's on Ashley Babbitt. Ashley Babbitt and Alex Prey are not the same. And the circumstances are not remotely the same. So yes, it's perfectly consistent to say Ashley Babbitt was killed in a justified shoot for trying to attack members of Congress and also say Alex Prey was murdered by the Trump administration because he wasn't trying to attack anybody.
>> Thank you, Caroline. Regarding uh Minnesota. On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security posted that Prey looks like he wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement. Steven Miller on Saturday posted that or called Prey a would-be assassin. Why did administration officials jump to conclusions before an investigation had even been conducted?
>> Well, look, this has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation throughout the weekend. Uh, as for President Trump, whom I speak for, uh, he has said that he wants to let the investigation continue and let the facts lead in this case.
>> So, again, that's a terrible answer. You can see her nervousness there. It's a perfectly valid question. This is part of the reason. It's not just the murder that has the American people so animated and so outraged. It is also, and perhaps equally so, the Trump administration's cruel and viciously dishonest response to the murder. This could have been better handled from a politics perspective. Like even the murder itself, as despicable and heinous as it was, from just a political standpoint, there was probably a way for the Trump administration to reduce the political fallout of this, if they had said, "Listen, this is there's a pending investigation. We are going to cooperate with state and local authorities as a gesture of goodwill. I know they don't trust us. We don't trust them. The American people are split on this. Some of them trust us. Some of them trust Minnesota. So damn it, we're going to cooperate. We're going to do joint investigations in this. We're not going to comment on the investigation. Per protocol, the agent who uh shot Alex Prey has been suspended or has been put on desk duty or whatever. He's not he doesn't have a gun on him at this point. He's taken off duty. We're not going to punish him, nor are we going to reward him. He's just taken out of the context while this is investigated. And then they could have just chosen not to characterize or slander or lie about Alex Prey the way that they did. They chose to do that. Levit knows this has backfired spectacularly and she has no good answer. Well, it's a fluid situation. Well, there was nothing at the time in this fluid situation to justify the Trump administration's response. So again, this is 100% a failure of your own proactive making and that's why the American people are pissed.
Mary, >> thanks. To follow on Gab's question, Secretary Nielsen said Alex Prey committed an act of domestic terrorism. Steven Miller labeled Prey a domestic terrorist. Does the president agree with them?
>> Look, as I've said, I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Prey in that way. Uh, however, I
>> So he's kind of throwing Nielsen and Steven Miller under the bus because he knows this is politically toxic.
>> Have heard the president say he wants to let the facts in the investigation lead itself.
>> Was he alarmed to hear his top officials referring to him in that way, rushing to that judgment?
>> Denny, go ahead.
>> Thanks.
>> Notice how she ducked the question. Perfectly valid question, but she can't answer it. She can't answer it honestly because that would involve humility. It would involve apology. It would involve accepting or admitting that the Trump administration made mistakes. And they can't do it. Even as Trump tries to back off, he's got to do it in a way which saves face to him. He's not saving face. This is not helping.
>> Top officials referring to him in that way, rushing to that judgment.
>> Danny, go ahead.
>> Thanks, Caroline. Um, on Steven Miller's comments, um, will Steven Miller be apologizing to the family of Alex Prey for calling him uh, quotes an assassin who tried to murder federal agents despite the fact that, as you say, this is still under investigation.
>> Look, again, this incident remains under investigation and nobody here at the White House, including the president of the United States, wants to see Americans hurt or killed and losing their lives in American streets. Uh, and we we mourn for the parents. As a mother myself, of course, I cannot imagine uh the loss of life, especially losing one's child. Um, and that same uh empathy from the president goes for the parents of angel families uh and parents of victims of illegal alien crime.
>> So again, see how she tries to pivot. Well, the people we really should be worried about are the next of kin of the victims of undocumented immigrants. But that has nothing to do with this. Like Alex Prey, it's not like Alex Prey was defending an undocumented immigrant murderer. Like at least then I would understand the logic. It would still not excuse what happened to Alex Prey from a legal standpoint. But you see how she tries to weaponize her own motherhood in a very unconvincing way because Carolyn, listen, I've said it before and I'll say it again and I know some people in the audience get really pissed. I think Carolyn Levit's really good at what she does. But consider what she's hired to do. She's hired to be mean. She's hired to insult people. She's hired to be Trump's representative. She's young. She's smart. She's quick on her feet. The problem is Donald Trump, the person she's defending, puts her in a really awkward position 99 times out of a hundred because he's wrong and unpopular on pretty much every issue. But when that's the the I that's the mechanism, the archetype of the MAGA spokesperson to be unapologetic and vicious and attack people, she's very good at that. Here, she knows she's screwed. Which is why, by the way, even though she's she's trying to push back and reclaim the narrative. Note, she's a lot less performatively spiteful here than in other situations, even as she tries to put the onus on Democrats and undocumented immigrants, she's less vicious. Again, she knows, she's smart enough to know she's totally [ __ ] on this and she'll never be able to spin her way out of it. But even then, she tries to say, "Well, I'm a mother, too, lady. Nobody buys you as an empathetic figure. You are you are perhaps second only to your two bosses, Steven Chung, who is this rotunded piece of [ __ ] And by the way, I'm at the point, folks. I think it's totally cool to be as mean as possible to the most cruel members of the Trump administration, attacking both their psychology and their looks when they look as ugly as Steven Chung is and as vicious as he is. And Donald Trump himself, you between the three of you, you are like the unholy trinity of viciousness. Nobody's going to buy this whole empathetic well as a mother myself. Nobody buys that. You you can't do you know Jen Saki, President Biden's press secretary could deliver that I think credibly. Dana Perino, whom we talked about Fox News host former press secretary for President Bush. She could probably deliver that. Nobody buys that sort of empathy from Caroline Levit.
>> Caroline, couple quick questions. First, does the president remain fully confident in Kirstjen Nielsen's ability to lead the DHS? And then just secondly, uh just on that Wall Street Journal reporting that we saw yesterday. Uh
>> So she says yes, Donald Trump remains confident, but of course Trump will say that publicly. Like Trump doesn't believe Trump refuses to give the the media quote unquote scalp, which is why he is reluctant to criticize members of his own administration explicitly. But if you read between the lines, the fact that he's sending Tom Homan to Minneapolis to kind of take over, he's obviously not confident in Nielsen. Um to your first question, the answer is yes, he still has confidence and trust in Secretary Nielsen. To the second question, I would point
>> So again, she says, "Yep, he still has confidence in Secretary Nielsen." But again, it's Donald Trump. He's he's he will say one thing and do another. He doesn't want to give liberals like me the satisfaction of explicitly overtly throwing Kirstjen Nielsen under the bus until he absolutely has to.
Fran >> Caroline, is it the White House's position that Americans have the right to show up to these ICE operations and film, document, or protest the law enforcement actions?
>> All Americans have a First Amendment constitutional right. Of course, uh but Americans do not have a constitutional right to impede and obstruct uh lawful uh immigration enforcement operations. That
>> But that's not what Prey did. Prey didn't do that. He just didn't do that. So, um, another Trump administration official has asked about Greg Bambino. I call them the little mini Nazi. He's the one who, uh, is is always in those Hugo Boss, um, uh, you know, dusters or whatever, the the trench coats that are very reminiscent of the SS. He's the guy who demands that there be a dozen border patrol or ICE agents surrounding him anytime he has to go take a piss in a Target bathroom. Like, he's been caught on camera being so cringe. He's attacking Republicans uh, who are criticizing him. We'll probably talk about that in a separate video, but Levit has asked about him.
>> Uh Elena,
>> Thank you. Um I had a question with Homan now going to Minnesota. Is Gregory Bino also going to remain in Minnesota overseeing these ICE operations?
>> Mr. Bino is a wonderful man and he is a great professional. Uh he is going to very much continue to lead Customs and Border Patrol uh throughout and across the country. Mr. Homan will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis. In other words, Trump is taking Bino out of commission. He's like, "You guys screwed this up. You and Kirstjen Nielsen. Now I'm sending Tom Homan in, who by the way is not a beacon of empathy or professionalism either. He may be better than Bino or Nielsen. That remains to be seen, but this is the closest it comes to Trump throwing people under the bus right now."
Thank you, Caroline. FBI Director Cash Patel said in a Sunday interview, quote, "You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest." Does the president believe the Second Amendment rights remain in effect even when protesting?
>> The president supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens. Absolutely. There has been no greater supporter or defender uh of the right to bear arms than President Donald J. Trump. Uh so while Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms, Americans do not have a constitutional right to impede lawful immigration enforcement operations. Uh and any gun owner knows that when you uh are carrying a weapon, when you are bearing arms and you are confronted by law enforcement, uh you are uh raising the assumption of risk and the the uh risk of of force being used against you. And
>> See how nervous she is. Again, she knows she's walking a tightrope here. Per for the most recent video we did before this was about the MAGA civil war that's being triggered because Trump administration officials like Scott Besson, Treasury Secretary, Cash Patel, FBI director, deputy attorney general Todd Blanch, and others are basically saying, "Look, if you're protesting us, you can't have a gun on you. Pro having a gun on you is for conservatives only, not for Black people, not for liberals. White conservatives, you all have a Second Amendment right, but other people don't have a Second Amendment right. Conservatives, they can go and do whatever the [ __ ] they want with their guns. Um, liberals and conser liberals and and and minorities. If you guys have the right, it's much more limited and uh you just can't protest us." There are a lot of uh there's it triggered a MAGA civil war here. Now, there are a lot of Republicans and conservatives who are either defending Trump on this or just staying quiet. Others who are like, "No, that this is not principled whatsoever." She's nervous because she knows that in addition to the fallout of this ICE shooting, there's also a MAGA civil war at play. So she's like very tepidly trying to walk this tightrope and again I don't think it's persuasive at all.
>> I'll take a couple more. Go ahead.
>> Okay. So this weekend the president posted that this is a cover-up of the fraud in the state of Minnesota. He also posted, "Minnesota is a cover-up." These both happened after the shooting. So given that these came after the shooting, what is the this here? What is the cover-up he's alleging?
>> Yes, it's a good question. I've spoken with the president about this at length. What the president is referring to is the fact that you have Governor Waltz and again the mayor who have been encouraging these left-wing agitators to come out uh and to harass and to dox and to threaten ICE and to make this conversation about uh and and smear lies about federal law enforcement who again are just trying to do their jobs in an attempt to distract from the widespread massive fraud that has taken place in their state. Billions and billions of dollars has been stolen from law-abiding taxpayers in Minnesota. Uh, and the administration continues to be very focused on getting to the bottom of it. Uh, especially and the president raised a good question over the weekend with respect to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who now has a a net worth within the millions. And one must ask themselves why and how is that possible?
>> Because her husband's a venture capitalist and it has nothing to do with the public funds or Somali daycare or Somali fraud or whatever the [ __ ] you're talking about. Again, it's just because he hates Ilhan Omar. Ilhan Omar is a progressive. Ilhan Omar is Somali and that's it. He's trying to draw a xenophobic, racist, bigoted connection there and that's it. He's the one trying to distract. By the way, I'll point out that the fraud, most of the fraud that's been investigated was investigated under the Biden administration. So, again, you don't get credit for that.
Trump, one last clip.
>> Prior to the call uh with Governor Waltz this morning, uh the president described it as respectful. He said, "We seem to be on a similar wavelength," but you had strong criticism for the governor and the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, just now. So, could you explain the difference in tone between what the president had said in his Truth Social post and I think some of the criticisms that you just levied from the podium?
>> Fran, I think the criticisms that I laid out, I'm painting the picture for all of you in this room, are what led to the moment that we are in today where Governor Waltz and President Trump are having a conversation, a constructive and productive conversation.
>> Well, we'll see how Governor Waltz describes it because I certainly don't trust it. Um, but again, this what what the what the reporter is saying is like, okay, well, you're demonizing Waltz and now you're saying it's a constructive dialogue and you're trying to praise him. Which one is it? And again, it's it just goes to show the reason that they're reaching out to Waltz and trying to smooth things over, even though they hate Waltz and even though Waltz is currently under active investigation by the Trump administration, another political prosecution I'll point out, is because they know they have totally failed on this issue. They got their asses kicked in the court of public opinion because of their heinous, vicious immigration and deportation policy. And there could very well be political consequences which could further cost them in the November midterms. That's all this is. And that's why Levit was so nervous. I don't think she made anything better. I will note she dialed down the sadism and the cruelty and the rhetoric a bit as much as humanly possible while also refusing to apologize and to take accountability and also desperately trying to blame the Democrats. So, it was a total [ __ ] show from start to finish and I don't think it's going to make anything better. In the meantime, let me know what you think in the comments.