The mask slipped during Karoline Leavitt’s press conference on Iran

Leavitt is one of the smoothest operators in the Trump administration. But today, she was flustered from the start — and it only got worse when she opened for questions, reports Holly Baxter NewsWorldAmericasAnalysisThe mask slipped during Karoline Leavitt’s press conference on IranLeavitt is one of the smoothest operators in the Trump administration. But today, she was flustered from the start — and it only got worse when she opened for questions, reports Holly BaxterWednesday 04 March 2026 20:53 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverWhite House blames the media after their emergency Iran hotline didn't workYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreFor anyone who’s trying to keep up with the endless twists and turns in our This Is Not A Forever War, there’s been another development. No, I’m not talking about the mass evacuations or the six dead American service members (there’ll be more probably, says Donald Trump, but hey, to quote the man himself, “that’s the way it is” when there’s a war. So get used to it!). Nor am I referencing Israel invading Lebanon or Donald Trump having a big tantrum about Europeans not following him into a war the UN says is completely illegal (Keir Starmer is “no Winston Churchill,” Trump fumed yesterday, before threatening to cut off all trade with Spain if they wouldn’t allow America to use their bases in the region.)No, this development is more homeland-facing: the appearance, finally, of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt after a five-day absence while Trump launched a war in the Middle East. Leavitt opened her presser today with strident energy — like Trump and Hegseth before her, she began with a hundred-mile-per-hour history lesson on every single bad thing Iran has ever done to America, going back five decades. The Iranian regime, she added, is now “paying for their crimes against America and they are paying in blood.”Then came the usual stuff, which was wheeled out about 30 minutes before she completely lost her mind during questions: her insults aimed at former presidents (such as “Barack Hussein Obama” and Joe Biden, who were “weak and ineffective”) in service of the current dear leader (President Trump is a “man of action”!). Gaslighty claims followed about how the war Trump started wasn’t actually started by Trump, because Iran started it first by funding terrorist groups in the ‘90s or something, along with lip service about how Trump is a man of peace and how he’s ended a zillion global conflicts and how his hand was forced, how everything ultimately comes back to him, a wonderful man, a “courageous” man, a thoughtful man, the best president of all time forever, and also “when President Trump makes a threat… President Trump does not bluff.” And, of course, the requisite warnings about “fake news” and how Americans shouldn’t listen to journalists, because all they need are the official state-sponsored words of the government. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC (Getty)But then, asked about whether a phone call with Netanyahu where the Israeli leader shared where Ayatollah Khameini was situated had anything to do with the US strike, Leavitt stumbled over her words for a second before snapping back into character: that may have affected the “timing” of the strike, she said, but actually, Trump started the war because he had a “good feeling” that Iran might strike US service members first. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence at all that there was anything behind that “good feeling,” but if you can’t trust the petulant whims of one man, then what can you trust?The moment when the mask really slipped during the Leavitt briefing, however, was when a question came from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about the six slain US service members in the Middle East. “There is not — we've never had a Secretary of Defense who cares more when tragic things happen,” Leavitt snapped. As there was murmuring in the room, she continued: “Listen to me — especially you!... You and your network know that you take every single thing this administration says and tries to use it to make the president l