White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mince words when addressing members of the press who continue to downplay the lawlessness in Portland. Her message to CNN and other reporters turning a blind eye to the chaos was simple: go there and do your job.
During Monday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fielded a barrage of questions about the ongoing “Schumer Shutdown.” The exchange took a sharper turn when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins challenged the administration’s depiction of Portland’s unrest, claiming that what President Trump described didn’t match what a Democratic police chief had told her over the phone the week prior.
But Collins’ framing left out some critical context — namely, the weeks of violent anti-ICE riots that have rocked Portland. Federal property has been attacked, officers have been injured, and even journalists have been assaulted.
Leavitt didn’t hold back on the left-wing hack.
“I would encourage you as a reporter to go on the ground and to take a look at it for yourself,” Leavitt said. “Because there have been many members of the press, not the press in this room, but independent journalists. Some of whom will be invited to the White House very soon to share their stories.”
“Because they have been in the middle of these riots,” she added. “And they have witnessed the anarchy taking place night after night. It’s on video. You should play it on your show. You have a great opportunity on primetime CNN to show your audience.”
WATCH:
.@KAROLINELEAVITT TELLS CNN KAITLYN COLLINS TO DO REAL JOURNALISTIC WORK
"You should play it on your show, you have a great opportunity on primetime." Collins tries to challenge @PressSec on the civil disobedience in Portland, OR. pic.twitter.com/ZImwtRhniT— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) October 6, 2025
Collins made an inaudible response to Leavitt, and she hit back and said, “Yeah, but you’re probably talking to partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this president does.”
“You should also ask the people who live in Portland,” the White House Press Secretary replied. “We’ve actually heard from many members of the community who have said that this is complete civil disobedience. It’s a mess. It’s been loud. It’s been troubling for neighbors in the community who are just trying to live peacefully. And these people are not there to peacefully protest. They are there to cause mayhem and havoc.”
During the same briefing, Leavitt added that there’s “been a complete smear campaign from Democrats and the media quite frankly” claiming, falsely, that President Trump “wants to take over American cities with the military.”
“The president wants to help these local leaders who have been completely ineffective in securing their own cities,” Leavitt said, pointing to the successes the administration has had in cleaning up Washington, D.C.
There’s a clear reason President Trump wants to send in the National Guard to restore order in Portland — because the people who actually live there know the truth. Despite what Democrat officials and their media allies keep insisting, things are not fine. Ordinary citizens have been filming the chaos for months: violent protests, attacks on ICE facilities, and neighborhoods living in fear while city leaders pretend it’s all under control.
The real story here for Collins and her other pretend journalist colleagues is finding out why only Democratic leaders are opposed to Trump’s efforts to protect and defend their cities from violence and criminal activity.
