White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt opened today’s briefing with an aggressive stance, targeting The Washington Post, defending FEMA’s preparedness, and confirming that President Trump’s new 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum will go into effect at midnight.

Before taking any questions, Leavitt delivered a pointed rebuke of the Post, accusing the paper of publishing a misleading and manipulative headline regarding the fentanyl crisis, which read, “The mysterious drop in fentanyl seizures on the U.S.-Mexico border.”

“How is this mysterious?” she asked. “There is no mystery about why there is a decrease in fentanyl coming into the United States!” She attributed the decline to the administration’s policies, especially its border strategy and improved relations with Mexico.

“This administration’s strong border policies are the reason there has been a decrease in fentanyl trafficking,” she said. “His strengthened relationship with Mexican President Sheinbaum and all of the measures he has been taking to deter illegal human and drug trafficking at our United States southern border is the reason for plummeting fentanyl seizures at the U.S. Border.”

She went on to suggest that the headline wasn’t just about creating a false narrative, but actually meant to manipulate the minds of the American electorate while questioning how effective the Post’s effort really was. “This is clearly trying to intentionally manipulate the minds of Americans, and I think the American people understand why there has been fentanyl drop,” she said.

“Our office responded to this inquiry, we provided a whole host of the reasons that fentanyl seizures have dropped at the southern border, and The Washington Post refused to run them,” she said. “And that’s despicable.”