PoliticsKaroline Leavitt Clashes With Reporter Over Donald Trump Question in Fiery Exchange
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had a fiery exchange with a reporter who questioned President Donald Trump's Iran war.
March 12 2026, Published 1:28 p.m. ET
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt snapped at CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes during a press briefing when questioned about President Donald Trump's justifications for military strikes on Iran.
The exchange occurred on Tuesday, March 10, after Cordes asked if the president was "making this up" to justify the war, noting that no other U.S. or Israeli leaders were backing his specific claims.
Cordes pointed out that Trump claimed he chose to launch "Operation Epic Fury" because he "felt" Iran was going to strike the U.S. within seven days, a timeline not supported by other intelligence officials.
Karoline Leavitt Snaps
Karoline Leavitt got into a fiery exchange with a reporter.
“There are no U.S. leaders or Israeli leaders who are making those same claims, so is he making this up to justify his decision to go to war now?” Cordes asked.
Leavitt fired back, stating, "The president is not making anything up, Nancy.”
The pregnant press secretary continued to defend her boss, saying, “He is looking at this every single day based on intelligence. Based on facts and based on intelligence that he himself and his negotiators have consumed based on their, again, negotiations with the rogue Iranian regime over the past year.”
Karoline Leavitt insisted the president made a decision based on 'facts.'
She insisted the president's decision was based on "intelligence" and "facts" consumed by his negotiators during good-faith efforts to reach a deal with the "rogue Iranian regime.”
Trump asserted that Iran was "100 percent" ready to strike U.S. targets within seven days, a timeline he later reduced to three days in interviews.
Leavitt argued the president chose to "strike first" to eliminate a threat that had existed for 47 years rather than "sit back and watch" an attack unfold.
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Karoline Leavitt Sticks Up for Donald Trump
Karoline Leavitt stuck up for the president during the exchange.
Cordes asked Leavitt where Trump was getting his information from.
“This was a feeling the president had based on facts,” Leavitt snipped. “Facts provided to him by his top negotiators who had been engaged with the Iranian regime in a good faith effort.”
Leavitt concluded by saying the president was not going to allow the U.S. to be threatened and added, "everyone in this room should be grateful for it.”
Donald Trump typically talks back to reporters.
Despite Leavitt's firm stance that the president was "not making anything up," reports noted that her defense contradicted Pentagon statements to Congress, which indicated there was no intelligence suggesting an imminent Iranian first strike.
This incident follows a history of tension between the Trump administration and Cordes; in November 2025, Trump lashed out at her on Thanksgiving Day, calling her a "stupid person" for asking about a shooting involving National Guard members.
