SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows an image of what she said was a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle that was vandalised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 15, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was roundly criticized on Thursday for her pearl-clutching moment in front of the press during the daily briefing.
Leavitt complained that some protesters had flipped off Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and that they had written profane language on broken-down federal vehicles. Her comments come after cameras captured President Donald Trump flipping off a worker who called him a "pedophile protector" during a recent tour of the Ford Motor plant in Detroit.
That worker was later fired from his job. A GoFundMe was started for him and raised more than $800,000, according to reports.
“Look at this vehicle. It says ‘F ICE,’" Leavitt said, pointing to a photograph. "You have these individuals who are putting their middle finger proudly so at the camera."
Leavitt's comments were roundly mocked online, The Daily Beast reported.
“Save us the outrage, sweetie,” The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican group, wrote to Leavitt on X.
"Wait until she learns about the 1st Amendment …" California Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office posted on X.
"Didn’t Donald Trump give his middle finger to a UAW union worker 48 hours ago," Democratic political strategist Adam Parkhomenko posted on X.