White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday clashed with a reporter with The Associated Press over President Trump’s use of tariffs after granting the outlet a rare question during a White House press briefing.
Leavitt faced a slew of questions about Trump’s widespread use of tariffs on imports, which have rattled financial markets and sparked fears of a recession. At one point, Leavitt called on an Associated Press reporter, who asked Leavitt why the president was proposing “tax hikes in the form of tariffs” as opposed to the tax cuts he promised on the campaign trail.
“He’s actually not implementing tax hikes. Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that, again, have been ripping us off,” Leavitt said. “Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the president is a staunch advocate for tax cuts.”
AP’s reporter in the room, Josh Boak, then responded: “I’m sorry, have you ever paid a tariff? Because I have. They don’t get charged on foreign companies, they get charged on importers.”
Leavitt dug in on arguing that tariffs would lead to increased wages and revenues for Americans, then shot back at Boak.
“I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics, and the decision that this president has made,” Leavitt said. “I now regret giving a question to The Associated Press.”
The testy exchange came amid a fight between the White House and the AP over press access. The White House has blocked AP reporters and photographers from the pool of journalists who cover the president, and from attending certain events inside the White House. The AP has been part of the press pool, which disseminates information about the president to the wider public, for decades.
Leavitt has also not called on AP’s reporters during press briefings in the weeks since the outlet was banned.
The spat stems from the AP’s decision not to fully adopt the name “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico into its widely influential Stylebook, used by news media organizations across the U.S. The disagreement came after Trump’s executive order declaring the name change upon taking office.
A federal judge last month declined to restore AP’s access at the White House. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of Trump during his first term, emphasized that additional briefing on the matter is necessary “given the stakes” for both parties. He set an expedited schedule and ordered arguments on a preliminary injunction for March 20.
