White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday accused HuffPost correspondent S.V. Date of being a “left-wing hack” who “constantly bombards” her phone after sharing a recent question texted to her by the reporter.
Date had texted Leavitt last week asking if President Trump was “aware of the significance of Budapest” when he agreed to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital, in the coming weeks, for peace talks.
“Does he not see why Ukraine might object to that site? Who suggested Budapest?” Date probed, noting that the city was the site of a 1994 agreement where Ukraine pledged to give up nuclear weapons inherited from the former Soviet Union in exchange for Russia promising not to use military force or economic coercion against Ukraine.
“Your mom did,” Leavitt responded.
“Is this funny to you?” Date texted back.
“It’s funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic],” the White House press secretary shot back. “You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don’t tell you that to your face.”
“Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bulls–t questions.”
Leavitt shared the Oct. 17 exchange on X after HuffPost ran a story on the White House’s “Wild Response” to Date’s questions.
“For context, S.V. Dáte of the Huffington Post is not a journalist interested in the facts,” Leavitt wrote in her X post, including screenshots of her texts with Date. “He is a left-wing hack who has consistently attacked President Trump for years and constantly bombards my phone with Democrat talking points.”
“Just take a look at [Date’s] feed, it reads like an anti-Trump personal diary,” she continued, arguing that “Activists who masquerade as real reporters do a disservice to the profession.”
Date went on to press Leavitt to answer his question about the Budapest summit in the same X thread where she was mocking him.
“Feel better now? Now can you answer the question? Please and thank you,” Date tweeted.
Other Trump administration officials now appear to be channeling Leavitt in their responses to Date’s inquiries.
A HuffPost piece by Date, published Monday evening, on the red, white and blue tie worn by War Secretary Pete Hegseth during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House last week includes a statement from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell that reads, “Your mom bought it for him — and it’s a patriotic American tie, moron.”
