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PERSPECTIVE - Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, announced during a recent briefing that the White House website has added a new section which will identify the “Media Offender of the Week.” Some might find such a combative, insulting label to be a lousy way to engender good relations with the press corps.
There is a chance, however, that it may turn out to be one of the more helpful initiatives to come out of the White House. It could produce an honest, not to mention informative, means of evaluating the pros and cons of information flowing from the President and his communications office.
Of course, that would require an even-handed approach to recognizing the weekly offender.
For example, the designation could fairly be bestowed on somebody who calls one reporter “Piggy,” declares another to be “stupid” and labels a sitting Governor “seriously retarded.”
Nor is it a stretch to award the title to the man who, on his social media platform, accused sitting members of the House and Senate, all of whom served courageously in the military, of “. . .seditious behavior punishable by DEATH!” That is, without doubt, a highly offensive use of digital media.
Lying is a pretty good way to earn the title, too. Insisting “. . .we weren’t getting” military pay raises “from the past administration” is a flagrant misuse of media. During the Biden administration, military pay raises were 4.5% in 2025, 5.2% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2023.
Insisting that the average family paid less for a typical Thanksgiving dinner this year, while conveniently ignoring the fact that households were, in fact, paying more for less is a qualified offense.
Telling the media that you have reduced the cost of a given medicine by 500% is offensive, if only because it is stunningly bad math. Cutting a $20.00 prescription by that figure means that the drug manufacturer owes you $100.
Announcing that the U.S. has declared the skies over Venezuela to be a “no fly” zone without mentioning that the President has no authority to do so – a violation of dozens of international laws, rules and regulations – is, at the very least, shady.
And nothing says “Media Offender of the Week” like chiding a reporter for noting that the entire intelligence community has concluded that Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the brutal murder and dismemberment of an American journalist.
It would be a laudable service to the public if the White House would correct, or at least acknowledge, any one, if not all, of these offenses. It might also restore the public’s confidence in Ms. Leavitt’s integrity, never mind that of her boss.
Unfortunately, confidence and integrity were not among the requirements which qualified Ms. Leavitt for her appointment. So, sadly, we’re left to conclude that the Media Offender of the Week will, like just about everything else the White House does, be dishonest, destructive and delusional.
Sorry, Karoline, but this idea is destined to land in the nearest dumpster where it will keep company with the East Wing of the White house which, as we all know, hasn’t been damaged at all.
(David M. Hamlin’s commentaries appear regularly in CityWatchLA. His other writings, including novels and short stories, are available at his website, www.dmhwrites.com.)
