White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Criticizes HuffPost Reporter Over Budapest Trump-Putin Meeting Questions

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly criticized HuffPost reporter S.V. Date, calling him a "left-wing hack" and accusing him of frequently sending her biased and disingenuous questions. The dispute arose after Date questioned the significance of President Donald Trump's planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, referencing the 1994 Budapest Memorandum where Russia promised not to invade Ukraine. Leavitt responded to Date's inquiries with sarcasm and dismissiveness, including telling him "Your mom did" when asked who suggested Budapest as the meeting site. She shared screenshots of their text exchanges on social media, highlighting Date's persistent questioning and labeling his journalistic work as anti-Trump and politically motivated. Date responded publicly, asking Leavitt to answer his questions despite the heated exchange. The confrontation has drawn attention to tensions between the Trump administration's press office and certain journalists, with Leavitt accusing reporters like Date of masquerading as objective journalists while pushing partisan narratives.