Karoline Leavitt Absolutely Levels Lefty Reporter After Dishonest ICE Question – ‘You’re a Hack’ – RedState

I recently rewatched the movie It Chapter Two with my teenage daughter, who loves a good horror series (Stephen King isn’t my cup of tea, but we do these things for our kids, don’t we?). This won’t be a spoiler as the movie was released in 2019, but the evil people-eating clown, Pennywise, is ultimately defeated after the good guys realize the way to take him down is to make him feel small. And they make him feel small by hurling scathing, but extremely accurate, insults at him (e.g., “You’re just a stupid clown!”). Pennywise grows smaller with each pointed barb and eventually shrinks into nothingness.

A similar thing just happened in the White House press room.

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During her Thursday afternoon briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a question from The Hill’s Niall Stanage. Stanage, who looked like he had just come off the front lines harassing and taunting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis and who had tucked his protest sign under his seat, phrased his question in a way that did not meet even the lowest journalistic standards, and Leavitt was not buying it.

Meet Stanage from Northern Ireland:

Earlier, you were just defending ICE agents in general. And earlier, the secretary [of Homeland Security Kristi] Noem spoke to the media and said, among other things, that they were doing everything right. Thirty-two people died while in ICE custody last year. One hundred and seventy American citizens were arrested by ICE. And Renee Good was shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent.

How does this mean they are doing everything right?

Leavitt immediately retorted to Stanage: “Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?” To which Stanage replied: “Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and unjustifiably killed her.”

Let the nuclear attack on Karoline begin.

Oh, okay, so you’re a biased journalist with a left-wing opinion. Because you’re a left-wing hack. You are not a journalist, you are standing in this room as a journalist, and that is very clear from the premise of your question. And you and the media people, who have such prejudices but pretend to be a journalist, should not even be sitting in this seat.

You pretend to be a journalist, but you are a left-wing activist. And the question you just asked and your answer prove your bias. You should report the facts. You should report cases. Do you have the number of US citizens killed by illegal aliens? And who is ICE trying to deport from this country? I bet not. I bet you haven’t even read these stories. I bet you’ve never heard of Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungray, or all the innocent Americans who have been killed by illegal aliens in this country. And the brave men and women of ICE are doing everything in their power to eliminate these heinous individuals and make our communities safer.

And shame on people like you in the media who have a twisted and biased view and pretend to be a real and honest journalist.

An absolute masterclass in stopping the leftist narrative in its tracks and turning it against the dishonest questioner. Karoline was pure fire against this left-wing activist.

Luckily, we have split-screen video of the exchange. Watch Stanage, our Pennywise in this situation, get smaller and smaller with every word coming out of Karoline Leavitt’s mouth.

.@PressSec absolutely neutralizes a Fake News loser:

“You are a left-wing hacker. You are not a journalist. You are posing in this room as a journalist… You and people in the media who have such prejudices but pretend to be a journalist – you shouldn’t even be sitting in this seat.” pic.twitter.com/ebZzHj7hPs

– Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 15, 2026

Not that this will make Niall Stanage a better person or a better “journalist” in the future, but this exchange is a good reminder to all of us not to let the lies and distortions of the left go unchallenged. You never know who might listen and learn.

Now, if you need me, I’ll look into whether intrepid reporter Niall Stanage of The Hill has ever asked a similar question of the Biden White House.

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to distract, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.

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