White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly called out HuffPost correspondent S.V. Date on Monday, accusing him of being a “left-wing hack” who “constantly bombards” her phone with politically motivated questions.
The dispute stemmed from a text exchange between the two last week regarding President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
Date had sent Leavitt a message asking whether President Trump was “aware of the significance of Budapest” before agreeing to meet Putin there for peace talks scheduled in the coming weeks.
“Does he not see why Ukraine might object to that site? Who suggested Budapest?” the reporter wrote.
His message referenced the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine agreed to relinquish nuclear weapons inherited from the Soviet Union in exchange for assurances from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom that its sovereignty would be respected.
Leavitt replied, “Your mom did.”
Date followed up by asking, “Is this funny to you?”
This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year
“It’s funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic],” Leavitt responded. “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.”
She continued, “Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bullsh*t questions.”
The White House press secretary later shared screenshots of the October 17 exchange on X, writing, “For context, S.V. Dáte of the Huffington Post is not a journalist interested in the facts. He is a left-wing hack who has consistently attacked President Trump for years and constantly bombards my phone with Democrat talking points.”
Leavitt’s post came shortly after HuffPost published an article describing what it called the White House’s “Wild Response” to Date’s inquiry.
“Just take a look at [Date’s] feed, it reads like an anti-Trump personal diary,” Leavitt wrote.
“Activists who masquerade as real reporters do a disservice to the profession.”
For context, S.V. Dáte of the Huffington Post is not a journalist interested in the facts. 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 @svdate’s feed, it reads… https://t.co/NxWn2mdUsa pic.twitter.com/v7owI5N4us
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) October 20, 2025
Date later responded publicly on X within the same thread, writing, “Feel better now? Now can you answer the question? Please and thank you.”
Feel better now?
Now can you answer the question?
Please and thank you.
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) October 20, 2025
The exchange quickly circulated across social media, drawing attention from journalists, political commentators, and other members of the administration.
Several officials appeared to adopt Leavitt’s tone when responding to Date’s subsequent questions.
In a separate article published by HuffPost on Monday evening, Date reported on War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s red, white, and blue tie worn during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House last week. That piece included a comment from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who responded to Date’s inquiry with, “Your mom bought it for him — and it’s a patriotic American tie, moron.”
The dispute between Leavitt and Date follows a series of tense exchanges between Trump administration officials and members of the press, as the White House continues to push back on what it describes as politically slanted coverage.
Read the full article here
