Newly appointed White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hit back at a New York Times journalist after he compared US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Leavitt called journalist Peter Baker a “left-wing stenographer” after he drew comparisons between Trump’s handling of press access and Putin’s media crackdowns.
The exchange unfolded on X after veteran reporter and former Moscow correspondent Peter Baker criticised the administration’s decision to take control of the White House press pool and exclude Associated Press reporters from key events, including access to the Oval Office and Air Force One.
The shake-up comes amid growing friction between the Trump administration and media outlets. Just last week, AP journalists were removed from the president’s trip to Mar-a-Lago and Miami after refusing to use the White House’s preferred term, “Gulf of America,” instead of the Gulf of Mexico.
Baker took to social media on Tuesday to express his concerns, likening the Trump administration’s move to Kremlin tactics.
“Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin’s reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access,” he wrote on X.
Leavitt swiftly fired back with a clown emoji, followed by a sharp rebuttal.
“Give me a break, Peter,” she responded.
She pointed out that “moments after” Baker’s X post, Trump had invited journalists into the Oval Office for nearly an hour of questions. Leavitt dismissed Baker’s concerns as “hysterical” and defended the White House’s decision as a necessary change to an outdated system.
She then took a direct jab at Baker and the wider media landscape, posting on X she said, “Gone are the days where left-wing stenographers posing as journalists, such as yourself, dictate who gets to ask what.”
For decades, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) has determined press access, deciding which journalists could cover the president most closely. However, that changed earlier this week when Leavitt announced the administration would now take full control of the selection process.