White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt avoided addressing President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iran's entire civilization when challenged by a reporter during Wednesday's briefing.
The reporter contrasted Trump's rhetoric with George W. Bush's 2003 Iraq invasion messaging, which targeted the government rather than the people.
The reporter argued the U.S. has historically claimed moral authority by fighting governments, not civilizations, and questioned how Trump could maintain that high ground. Leavitt sidestepped the question, instead attacking Iran as a "rogue Islamic regime" that has killed American soldiers and chanted "death to America."
She asserted Trump "absolutely has the moral high ground," and called the reporter's suggestion "frankly insulting."
Leavitt then cut off the reporter and moved to the next question without substantively addressing the concern about Trump's genocidal rhetoric.
Watch the video below.