White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and an Associated Press (AP) reporter engaged in a heated exchange over President Trump’s tariff policies during a White House press briefing on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. This confrontation highlights ongoing tensions between the administration and the news agency.
The incident began when Leavitt granted the AP a rare question amid an ongoing dispute that has seen the White House block AP reporters and photographers from the presidential press pool and certain White House events.
AP reporter Josh Boak questioned why the president was proposing “tax hikes in the form of tariffs” instead of the tax cuts promised during his campaign.
“He’s actually not implementing tax hikes. Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that, again, have been ripping us off,” Leavitt responded. “Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the president is a staunch advocate for tax cuts.”
Boak challenged this characterization, asking: “I’m sorry, have you ever paid a tariff? Because I have. They don’t get charged on foreign companies, they get charged on importers.”
Leavitt defended the administration’s position that tariffs would increase wages and revenues for Americans, before expressing regret for calling on the AP reporter.
“I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics, and the decision that this president has made,” Leavitt said. “I now regret giving a question to The Associated Press.”
The confrontation comes amid a larger dispute between the White House and the AP over the news organization’s refusal to adopt the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico” in its reporting. President Trump issued an executive order mandating the name change upon taking office, but the AP has declined to fully implement this change in its widely influential Stylebook, which is used by news organizations across the United States.
In response, the White House has barred AP reporters and photographers from the press pool that covers the president and from attending certain events inside the White House. The press pool, which the AP has been part of for decades, is responsible for disseminating information about the president to the broader public.
The White House claimed the AP’s “commitment to misinformation” was the reason for the exclusion. Meanwhile, the AP has argued that the administration’s actions constitute a violation of the First Amendment’s protection of press freedom.
The dispute escalated when an AP reporter and photographer were prevented from boarding Air Force One, and the news organization was blocked from covering Oval Office events. In response, the AP filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the ban violates its First and Fifth Amendment rights.
“The White House has said it is not blocking the AP from reporting, but controls access to the president,” according to AP reporting on the matter. The news organization maintains that the ban hinders its ability to produce reporting and publish photographs quickly, harming the thousands of news outlets and billions of readers that rely on its journalism.
The conflict reached the courts when a federal judge last month declined to immediately restore the AP’s access to the White House. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, emphasized that additional briefing on the matter is necessary “given the stakes” for both parties.
While rejecting the AP’s request for a temporary restraining order, Judge McFadden expressed skepticism about the legality of the ban on the AP, describing it as “discriminatory” and “problematic.” He noted that case law appeared to be “uniformly unhelpful to the White House” in this situation.
“The judge questioned the White House’s reliance on the White House Correspondents’ Association to determine press pool access, but also acknowledged that the White House had discriminated against the AP,” according to reporting on the ruling.
The judge has set an expedited schedule and ordered arguments on a preliminary injunction for March 20.
The AP’s exclusion has drawn criticism from numerous media organizations. Dozens of news outlets, including some considered friendly to Trump, signed a letter urging the White House to reverse its policy regarding the AP’s access.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has been involved in a legal dispute over press access. During Trump’s first term, the White House revoked the credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta, a decision that was later ruled against by another federal judge.
Meanwhile, the White House has announced plans to take control of the press pool that covers presidential events, removing it from the oversight of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Press Secretary Leavitt stated that the White House will determine which outlets participate in the pool, including “new media” outlets like streaming services and podcasts.
The White House Correspondents’ Association has expressed concern that this change gives the administration too much power over media access.