White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took time out from her taxpayer-funded briefing on Friday to promote a right-wing podcaster who parrots lies and conspiracy theories.
The moment came as Leavitt was announcing which outlet had been chosen by the Trump administration to sit in the “new media” designated seat during the White House event.
“So today we have the ‘Ruthless’ podcast. They humbly started by entertaining small audiences on Capitol Hill, but after four years this program has become one of the most influential podcasts in America,” Leavitt said.
Karoline Leavitt is now using the White House briefing room to do promotion for rightwing podcasts [image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 31, 2025 at 10:14 AM
What Leavitt failed to share was that one of the co-hosts of the Ruthless podcast, political operative Shashank Tripathi (aka “Comfortably Smug”) was involved in a viral hoax that caused public worry during a deadly hurricane.
In 2012 as Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, Tripathi published a series of false tweets related to the weather event. He claimed that the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange had been flooded and was “under more than 3 feet of water,” that power had been shut down in “all” of Manhattan, and that electric utility Con Edison had shut off power in the entire city.
The posts were all false. Following condemnation of his actions, Tripathi issued a public apology and resigned from the Republican congressional campaign that he was working on at the time.
Legitimizing a figure like Tripathi is on brand for Leavitt, who once praised one of the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 as a “hero,” and pushed a lie about $50 million in foreign aid being used for condom purchases in Gaza during her first briefing.
She also made clear that the Trump administration would use press briefings to lean on right-wing media outlets while also hectoring the mainstream press.
Promoting the “Ruthless” podcast echoes Donald Trump’s own strategies. The convicted felon has spent his years as a political figure embracing right-wing including Fox News and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. At the same time, Trump attacks and even sues news outlets for the sin of accurately reporting on him and his allies.
Trump has frequently said that reporting critical of him should not be allowed and called for licenses to be pulled and channels to be removed as a consequence. His press secretary’s actions show that she intends to further execute on his vision.
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