free stats

Published On: Fri, Feb 20th, 2026

CBS’s Ed O’Keefe to WH’s Leavitt: “Where Or When Does The President Believe He’s Been Falsely Called Racist?”

CBS News White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe at Wednesday’s briefing asked White House press secretary when President Donald Trump started believing he was falsely being called a racist.

ED O’KEEFE, CBS NEWS: Yesterday, in his statement about Jesse Jackson, the President said, despite the fact that I’m falsely and consistently called a racist, by the scoundrels and lunatics on the radical left, Democrats all, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way. Where or when does the President believe he’s been falsely called racist? KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You’re kidding, right? I will pull you a plethora of examples. I’m going to get my team in that room to start. Going through the Internet of radical Democrats throughout the years, Ed, who have accused this President falsely of being a racist. And I’m sure there’s many people in this room and on network television across the country who have accused him of the same. In fact, I know that because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And the President very much looks forward to having an event later this afternoon at 3 p.m. to celebrate Black History Month and to talk about how his policies are advancing opportunity and prosperity for all Americans through record tax cuts, through the Trump accounts that all Americans can access regardless of race. These are a great thing for the next generation of Americans. The President has also awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding to strengthen educational outcomes at historically Black colleges and universities across the country. Again, the President is protecting the hard-earned benefits of the 2.4 million Black veterans who honorably served in our nation’s armed forces by reducing the backlog of veterans, waiting for their VA benefits and for their home loans through the Department of Veterans Affairs. So there is a lot this President has done for all Americans regardless of race, and he has absolutely been falsely called and smeared as a racist. And I’m happy to provide you those receipts, and we gladly will, right after this briefing.


RealClearPolitics Videos