Leavitt torches NYT reporter as White House unveils 'Media Offender of the Week' website

Transcript

00:00The White House today launched a new fake news portal, which I found interesting.

00:08What is your objective with that, ultimately?

00:11And are you going to name the news networks?

00:13And are you also going to name some of the correspondents, some which may be here today?

00:18Yes, we are.

00:20I'm glad you noticed, much to the dismay of some of your colleagues in the room, John.

00:25And I think it goes to our original promise on day one to hold the media accountable.

00:30Because, unfortunately, and we deal with this all day, every day around here,

00:35there are so many fake stories that are unfortunately written that have inaccurate characterizations of meetings that took place.

00:42And it's all based on anonymous sourcing.

00:44And, you know, the standard for journalism, unfortunately, has dropped to such a historic low in this country.

00:49And, again, we deal with it every day where you can have an anonymous source

00:53who has no idea what they're talking about, zero credibility,

00:56call up a reporter in Washington and say, hey, I heard this.

01:00And then the next thing you know, it's on the front page of the New York Times.

01:03It's really incomprehensible.

01:04We appreciate the journalists, some of those who are in this room who do reach out for comment,

01:09who try to get things right.

01:10And there are some that remain.

01:11But overwhelmingly, the fake news that we see pumped out of this building on a day-to-day basis,

01:17it's honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all and to constantly have to defend against these fake news and these attacks.

01:24And I will point out one fake news story over the weekend before I let you all go from the New York Times

01:29that took about one-third of the president's daily calendar and his daily schedule

01:34and said that he's doing less than he did in his first term or he might not be fit for the job.

01:40That is unequivocally false.

01:43And it's deeply unfortunate that this story was written by the same outlet and the same reporter who wrote this.

01:49Biden is doing 100% fine after tripping while boarding Air Force One.

01:54Oh, same outlet, same reporter who wrote that President Trump is not fit for the job.

01:59Are you kidding me?

02:00You all see him almost every single day.

02:03He is the most accessible president in history.

02:05He is taking meetings around the clock.

02:07Another one, Biden declared, quote, healthy and vigorous after his first presidential physical.

02:13I don't see headlines like that too often about this president.

02:17Again, same reporter, same outlet who wrote falsely over the weekend that President Trump is not fit for the job.

02:23I can assure you he absolutely is.

02:26You all see that with your own eyes on a daily basis.

02:28And the president's physician has now given you all three detailed reports on the state of the president's health.

02:34So with that, I will leave you all and we'll see you tomorrow.