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Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Twitter
Joe Yates
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Twitter
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has been slammed for her response to a reporter quizzing her on the importance of President Donald Trump's suggested meeting point with Putin.
The 79-year-old Republican has been pushing for peace in Eastern Europe, and it appears that the flop of the last summit that took place in Alaska back in August, hasn't deterred him - nor has being snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, after having been vying for it for years.
This latest round of peace talks is expected to conclude in Budapest, Hungary, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to be at the table - although whether Putin would allow it is a different story.
Anyway, HuffPost's White House correspondent S.V. Dáte pressed Leavitt on whether the Trump administration knew that the last deal struck between the Russians and Ukraine in Budapest was violated by Putin.
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His text message, which Leavitt leaked on Twitter, read: "Is the president aware of the significance of Budapest? In 1994, Russia promised, in Budapest, not to invade Ukraine if it gave up the nuclear weapons it inherited when the Soviet Union dissolved.
"Does he not see why Ukraine might object to that site? Who suggested Budapest? Thanks."
The press secretary hit back with an unhinged three-word response: "Your mom did."
While it is amusing, it's scary to see just how unprofessional Trump's regime is - when it comes to the press anyway.
Dáte then followed up with: "Is this funny to you?"
To which Leavitt responded: "It's funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic]. You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don't tell you that to your face. Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bulls*** questions."
One user - Mike Young - blasted the press secretary in the comments, slamming Trump's administration for 'testing the boundaries of surrealism'.
He wrote: "Somewhere in the Constitution, buried beneath the ink and parchment, there’s a faint whisper that says, 'maybe don’t say ‘your mom’ on behalf of the United States.'"
Young went on to suggest that Leavitt's response was more in line to a freshman replying to something in a group chat than the official voice of the White House.
He continued: "This isn’t strength, it’s slapstick. The role of Press Secretary isn’t to clap back at reporters; it’s to articulate policy on behalf of 330 million people. Turning the podium into a punchline doesn’t make you bold; it makes the country look unserious.
"You can tell the truth with wit, but you cannot lead with spite. Professionalism is not censorship. Accountability is not activism. And if your communication strategy requires explaining why 'your mom' is now statecraft, you may have lost the plot entirely.
"America once defined the modern press conference. Now we’re testing the boundaries of surrealism. This is not the golden age of communication; it’s a bad improv set in the Situation Room."
UNILAD has contacted the White House for comment.