Scroll To Top
Politics

Trump’s new White House Press Secretary targets transgender people in first briefing

Karoline Leavitt
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES - JANUARY 28 : White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at the White House Press Briefing room first time as a White House Press Secretary in Washington DC., United States on January 28, 2025.

Karoline Leavitt said that “sanity has been restored” because it only recognizes a gender binary.

Cwnewser
Support The Advocate
LGBTQ+ stories are more important than ever. Join us in fighting for our future. Support our journalism.

Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history at 27, debuted her media sparring skills on Tuesday by speaking for 47 minutes in the James S. Brady Briefing Room showcasing the Trump administration’s early moves, including an across-the-board freeze on federal grants and loans and a series of controversial policies. She also attacked transgender Americans in remarks that emphasized President Donald Trump’s conservative priorities.

Here's what happened.

Drones declared harmless after speculation

Leavitt opened the briefing with an update on the mysterious drones reported over the New Jersey coastline in late 2024, which sparked widespread speculation. For weeks, people looking into the sky noticed lights at night that they could not explain, leading to widespread speculation and investigations by America’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The Biden administration had reassured the public, stating that all aircraft were accounted for and no information supported the conclusion that any nefarious actors were flying above the U.S. Leavitt announced that the Federal Aviation Administration found that all drones were authorized for research and private hobbyist activities. “This was not the enemy,” she said. Trump, as president-elect, had previously accused Biden of hiding the truth.

Federal funding freeze chaos

The centerpiece of Leavitt’s remarks was the administration’s sudden freeze on federal grants and loans, which went into effect Tuesday evening. The directive, issued by the Office of Management and Budget, halts the disbursement of funds for thousands of programs while agencies review compliance with Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, environmental justice programs, and other progressive policies.

Leavitt framed the pause as an effort to be “good stewards” of taxpayer dollars and eliminate funding for what she referred to as “transgenderism and wokeness.” She added that programs providing direct assistance, such as Social Security and Medicare, would remain unaffected. However, nonprofits, state agencies, and local governments reported widespread confusion and disruptions.

The press secretary also defended Trump’s recent executive order redefining sex as strictly male or female based on birth, eliminating federal recognition of transgender and nonbinary individuals. Leavitt described the policy as restoring “sanity” in the face of “wokeness.”

Committed to the “truth”

In response to a question from the Associated Press’s Zeke Miller about whether she sees her role as advocating for the president or providing unvarnished truth, Leavitt said she is committed to telling the truth from the podium daily but immediately began stretching credulity. “It’s very easy to speak truth from this podium when you have a president who is implementing policies that are wildly popular with the American people,” she said. While there is majority support for some of Trump’s initiatives, such as stricter border controls (61 percent favor closing the border, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll), other key aspects of his agenda are deeply divisive. For example, an AP/NORC poll found that only 29 percent of Americans support universal tariffs on imports, and 46 percent oppose the idea. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 58 percent of Americans opposed the pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists, which included individuals convicted of assaulting police officers. On the evening of his first day in office, Trump pardoned and commuted the sentences of everyone — about 1500 people — convicted of crimes associated with the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His Justice Department has dropped charges against others who hadn’t yet been adjudicated.

Leavitt sparked confusion by crediting the U.S. military with something it did not do. “The water has been turned back on in California,” she claimed. She didn’t elaborate on what the government had done. The statement appeared to reference Trump’s recent visit to the state following devastating wildfires, during which he applied pressure on local and state officials to allow people back on their property. However, no evidence supports the claim that the military directly intervened to restore water access.

Leavitt accused legacy media outlets of spreading misinformation about Trump and his family and warned that the White House would call out inaccuracies. “While I vow to provide the truth from this podium, we ask that all of you in this room hold yourselves to that same standard,” she added.

Immigration crackdown

Leavitt doubled down on the administration’s hardline immigration stance, declaring, “If you are an individual, a foreign national who illegally enters the United States of America, you are by definition a criminal.” She emphasized Trump’s plans to launch what she called “the largest mass deportation operation in American history,” including people without violent criminal records.

Introducing the “new media” seat

As part of the Trump administration’s effort to reshape media access, Leavitt announced the creation of a “new media seat” in the James S. Brady Briefing Room. She said the seat, located at the front of the room and traditionally occupied by the press secretary’s staff, is now reserved for journalists and content creators from emerging platforms, including podcasters, bloggers, and social media influencers.

“We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this White House,” Leavitt said during the briefing. The move aligns with the administration’s broader strategy to bypass legacy media outlets, which Trump has often criticized as biased against his administration, and to engage directly with newer, less traditional platforms. While the White House approves press credentials for journalists who pass a Secret Service background check, the White House Correspondents’ Association manages the seating chart in the briefing room.

LGBTQ+ advocates responds

GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis criticized the administration’s use of discriminatory language and harmful policies. She emphasized that effective leaders and communicators, including public officials and their spokespeople, have a duty to represent all Americans accurately and respectfully, including LGBTQ+ citizens. “Donald Trump and his press secretary are proposing and pushing policies that are discriminatory, harm people, and harm our country,” Ellis told The Advocate in a statement. “His spokesperson is therefore failing the American people too.”

Ellis accused the administration of amplifying disinformation and targeting vulnerable communities, particularly transgender Americans, to advance a divisive political agenda. She pointed to the administration’s focus on rolling back LGBTQ+ rights as a distraction from pressing national issues, such as gun violence, abortion access, climate change, and rising prices. GLAAD’s president called on reporters to hold the administration accountable by questioning the real-world impacts of its policies on marginalized groups and the broader country.

“The focus on targeting transgender people is disturbed, and means they are not focused on problems Americans want addressed, from gun violence to abortion access to climate change to rising prices,” Ellis said.

Ellis also highlighted Leavitt’s recent media appearances, where the press secretary attacked Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of Washington after the bishop urged the administration to embody Christian values of mercy and compassion for LGBTQ+ people and immigrants. “Rather than reflect on it, Pres. Trump dispatched his press secretary to attack the bishop and ignore the call to treat people with kindness and respect,” Ellis said. She added that the administration’s rhetoric reflects a lack of creativity, character, and leadership needed to unite the nation and effectively address its challenges.

Cwnewser
The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Alan Cumming and Jake Shears

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Christopher Wiggins

Christopher Wiggins is a senior national reporter for The Advocate. He has a rich career in storytelling and highlighting underrepresented voices. Growing up in a bilingual household in Germany, his German mother and U.S. Army father exposed him to diverse cultures early on, influencing his appreciation for varied perspectives and communication. His work in Washington, D.C., primarily covers the nexus of public policy, politics, law, and LGBTQ+ issues. Wiggins' reporting focuses on revealing lesser-known stories within the LGBTQ+ community. Key moments in his career include traveling with Vice President Kamala Harris and interviewing her in the West Wing about LGBTQ+ support. In addition to his national and political reporting, Wiggins represents The Advocate in the White House Press Pool and is a member of several professional journalistic organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, and Society of Professional Journalists. His involvement in these groups highlights his commitment to ethical journalism and excellence in the field. Follow him on X/Twitter @CWNewser (https://twitter.com/CWNewser) and Threads @CWNewserDC (https://www.threads.net/@cwnewserdc).
Christopher Wiggins is a senior national reporter for The Advocate. He has a rich career in storytelling and highlighting underrepresented voices. Growing up in a bilingual household in Germany, his German mother and U.S. Army father exposed him to diverse cultures early on, influencing his appreciation for varied perspectives and communication. His work in Washington, D.C., primarily covers the nexus of public policy, politics, law, and LGBTQ+ issues. Wiggins' reporting focuses on revealing lesser-known stories within the LGBTQ+ community. Key moments in his career include traveling with Vice President Kamala Harris and interviewing her in the West Wing about LGBTQ+ support. In addition to his national and political reporting, Wiggins represents The Advocate in the White House Press Pool and is a member of several professional journalistic organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, and Society of Professional Journalists. His involvement in these groups highlights his commitment to ethical journalism and excellence in the field. Follow him on X/Twitter @CWNewser (https://twitter.com/CWNewser) and Threads @CWNewserDC (https://www.threads.net/@cwnewserdc).