Karoline Leavitt Clashes with Reporter During Live Press Briefing About ICE Question

NEED TO KNOW

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confronted a European reporter during a live briefing on January 15, questioning his motives regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
• Leavitt labeled Irish reporter Niall Stanage a “left-wing hack” after he suggested that an ICE agent acted recklessly in a recent shooting case.
• “You’re not a reporter, you’re posing in this room as a journalist,” she stated during the exchange.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a vigorous critique of reporter Niall Stanage during a press conference, branding him a “left-wing hack” after he raised concerns about fatalities in ICE custody, specifically spotlighting the deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent.

During the briefing, which was streamed live, Stanage mentioned that 32 individuals died in ICE custody the previous year and indicated that 170 U.S. citizens had been detained by the federal agency.

Stanage, whose reporting is featured by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann, referenced a statement from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who claimed the agency had been “doing everything correctly” after Good’s death.

“How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?” Stanage questioned.

Responding, Leavitt asked, “Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?” and prompted Stanage to clarify whether she sought his “opinion.” She confirmed her desire for him to explain his perspective.

He replied, “Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably.” Leavitt retorted, “OK, so you’re a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion … Because you’re a left-wing hack.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the press briefing on Jan. 15, 2026.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty 

Leavitt further pressed, “You’re not a reporter, you’re posing in this room as a journalist. And it’s so clear by the premise of your question. You and the media personnel with biases who fake being journalists shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat.” She accused him of pretending to be a journalist while being a left-wing activist, stating that his questioning indicated bias.

Leavitt further asserted that Stanage had likely not “read up on those stories,” mentioning victims such as Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray.

As of now, the White House has not publicly responded to requests for further commentary.

A poster of Renee Good is pictured in Minneapolis.

Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty

Renee Good, 37, had just dropped her 6-year-old child off at school on January 7 before an encounter with ICE agents turned deadly, as previously reported.

Good, a mother of three, was driving home with her wife, Becca Good, when they encountered federal immigration agents. Good’s ex-husband noted that she and her partner had relocated to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Mo., last year.

The couple had taken a detour to join neighbors protesting ICE operations in their community. Good’s vehicle reportedly blocked the agents, leading to a confrontation. An ICE officer, identified as Jonathan Ross, shot Good when she attempted to move her vehicle while he was pulling on her door handle.

Tributes are left for Renee Good following her death.

Jaida Grey Eagle/Bloomberg via Getty

Tensions have escalated in Minneapolis following Good’s death, with President Donald Trump threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act against local officials as protests intensified against ICE operations.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump criticized Minnesota’s Democratic leadership, pointing out that such an invocation would enable him to dispatch military forces to quell unrest.

In his statement, Trump asserted, “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me.”

ICE agents stand at the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot on January 7, 2026.

Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty

This warning followed an earlier incident on January 14 when a man was shot in the leg by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

Both Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have condemned ICE’s ongoing operations. Governor Walz urged residents to avoid escalating confrontations with ICE, suggesting that doing so would only empower Trump.

In response to Trump’s threats, Walz stated on X, “I am making a direct appeal to the President. Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are.”

Mayor Frey echoed these sentiments during a news conference on January 14, describing the situation as “impossible,” and highlighting the conflict between residents and ICE operatives as untenable.

He added, “We’re in a position right now where we have residents that are asking a very limited number of police officers we have to fight ICE agents on the street, to stand by their neighbors. We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another.”