Fact Check: Did Karoline Leavitt say America cannot function if Trump has to deal with co-equal branches?

WASHINGTON, DC: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has never been shy to express what she feels about questions asked of her by reporters.

She recently snapped at a reporter over a "stupid" question about President Donald Trump's stance on a "peaceful protest" during a military parade in Washington, DC, which will coincide with the POTUS' 79th birthday.

Now, a rumor has circulated online claiming that the White House Press Secretary said "America cannot function" if Trump has to deal with "co-equal branches of government". But is there any truth to this? Let's find out below.

Claim: Karoline Leavitt said 'America cannot function' if Trump has to deal with 'co-equal branches of government'

In June 2025, a rumor circulated online claiming that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "America cannot function if President Trump has to deal with co-equal branches of government having the ability to check his power."

Many social media users on X, Threads, and Facebook attributed the quote to the White House Press Secretary.

A Facebook user wrote, "Karoline Leavitt really said 'America cannot function if President Trump has to deal with co-equal branches of government having the ability to check his power.'"

Interestingly, Leavitt began multiple statements with "America cannot function" during a May 29, 2025, news briefing.

False: Karoline Leavitt did not make any such statement

The claims made in the online rumor are false, as Karoline Leavitt did not make any such statement despite her multiple statements beginning with "America cannot function", Snopes reported.

A search on Google and Bing for the exact quote online, which online users attributed to Leavitt, showed no results from news outlets, nor did searches for specific phrases used in the purported quote alongside Leavitt's name, per the fact-checking outlet.

Moreover, Leavitt's statement argued that a decision by a federal trade court unanimously ruling against Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" global tariff policy represented judicial overreach.

"President Trump correctly believes that America cannot function safely long-term if we are unable to scale advanced domestic manufacturing capacity; however, our own secure critical supply chains and our defense industrial base is dependent on foreign adversaries," Leavitt said.

She added, "America cannot function if President Trump, or any other president for that matter, has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges."

Karoline Leavitt snaps at reporter over 'stupid' question

Karoline Leavitt snapped at a veteran journalist on Wednesday, June 11, during a press conference and called the question "stupid".

Jasmine Wright of NOTUS asked Leavitt if Trump would support a non-violent protest on Saturday, June 14, after the POTUS claimed that protesting his birthday military parade would have 'harsh consequences', according to The Mirror.

Leavitt told Wright, "Of course, the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question."

She added that Trump "absolutely supports peaceful protests. He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard. He does not support violence of any kind."

"He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their job. It's very clear for the president what he supports and what he does not," Leavitt added.

She later bashed Democrats and said, "Unfortunately for Democrats, that line has not been made clear, and they've allowed this unrest and this violence to continue, and the president has had to step in."

"If there were peaceful protests on Saturday for the military parade... of course, the President supports peaceful protests," Leavitt added.