White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back at a reporter’s line of questioning Wednesday, scoffing at the suggestion that President Donald Trump opposes peaceful protests that challenge his agenda.
The exchange came during the daily briefing after Jasmine Wright, a politics reporter with NOTUS, pressed Leavitt to “clarify” what kinds of protests the president would allow—especially in light of Trump’s warning that any disruptions during Saturday’s military parade would be met with “very big force.”
“Can you clarify what kind of protest President Trump does support or find acceptable?” Wright asked.
Leavitt didn’t hold back. “The president absolutely supports peaceful protest, he supports the First Amendment, he supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard,” she said. “He does not support violence of any kind, he does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their job.”
Leavitt added that it’s Democrats who have blurred the lines between free speech and chaos. “It is very clear to the president what he supports and what he does not. Unfortunately for Democrats, that line has not been made clear and they’ve allowed this unrest and this violence to continue and the president has had to step in.”
Wright pushed again. “So if there were peaceful protests on Saturday for the military parade, President Trump would allow that?”
Leavitt didn’t mince words. “Of course the president supports peaceful protest. What a stupid question,” she snapped.
The tense exchange comes as Trump has sent in more than 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to restore order in Los Angeles. The city has been rocked by riots since Friday, after ICE agents began arresting illegal immigrants—many of whom had violent criminal records including second degree murder and attempted rape.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration over the National Guard deployment, calling it unconstitutional. But on Tuesday, a federal judge ruled against California’s request to block the action.
Meanwhile, chaos has spread across parts of Los Angeles. Rioters have torched vehicles, looted stores, sprayed anti-Trump and anti-ICE graffiti, and attacked law enforcement officers. In Paramount, CBP agents were pelted with rocks while trying to exit the area. One agent suffered a hand injury when a rock shattered a windshield, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported.
Businesses in hotspots like Little Tokyo have boarded up to prevent further destruction. Spray-painted messages like “F*** ICE” and “Trump’s A Lame” now cover many of the walls in protest zones.
And the violence has escalated. On Wednesday, DHS confirmed that Emiliano Garduno-Galvez—a previously deported Mexican national—will face attempted murder charges for hurling a Molotov cocktail at ICE agents during the riots.