Donald Trump's Press Secretary Gets Into Heated Confrontation With Reporter Over 'Insulting' Tariffs Question

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was furious with an Associated Press reporter over what she considered an "insulting" question.

President Donald Trump is facing criticism from various outlets for his recent shift in tax policies and impimenting a wave of new tariffs on some of our biggest trade partners like China and Canada. However, Leavitt has proudly defended the GOP leader's decisions during several White House press briefings.

On Tuesday, March 11, the AP's Josh Boak asked about President Trump's address at the Business Roundtable quarterly meeting.

The reporter claimed that despite Trump previously touting tax cuts during his last BRT meeting in 2024, the president is now pushing "tax hikes" through tariffs.

Leavitt interrupted him and objected to the line of questioning, claiming, "Not true."

"I’m curious why he is prioritizing that over tax cuts," Boak asked, to which Leavitt replied, "He is not doing that."

"He is actually not implementing tax hikes," the press secretary said. "Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that, again, have been ripping us off. Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the president is a staunch advocate of tax cuts."

"As you know, he campaigned on no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime, no taxes on Social Security benefits. He has committed to all three of those things, and he expects Congress to pass them later this year," she continued.

"I’m sorry, have you paid a tariff? Because I have," Boak fired back. "They don’t get charged on foreign companies. They get charged on the importers."

"And ultimately, when we have fair and balanced trade, which the American people have not seen in decades, as I said at the beginning, revenues will stay here, wages will go up, and our country will be made wealthy again," Leavitt explained.

"And I think it’s insulting that you are trying to test my knowledge of economics and the decisions that this president has made," she said, calling out the AP reporter. "I now regret giving a question to the Associated Press."

The Trump White House recently blocked the AP from the Oval Office and Air Force One after the outlet refused to use the name "Gulf of America" for the Gulf of Mexico.

Lauren Easton, a spokesperson for the outlet, released a statement after the decision, criticizing the administration and claiming, "Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people. The White House has said it supports these principles."

"The actions taken to restrict AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans," she added.