Karoline Leavitt rages at Kaitlan Collins in heated exchange over use of National Guard in Portland

WASHINGTON, DC: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt came in hot after CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed her about President Donald Trump’s thwarted plan to send National Guard troops into Portland.

It all started after a federal judge appointed by Trump himself blocked his attempt to deploy the Guard to Oregon’s biggest city. The White House said the move was “untethered to what was actually happening on the ground.”

Karoline Leavitt vs Kaitlan Collins

Collins, 33, asked Leavitt, 28, “Which local officials in Portland have said that the National Guard is needed there, if any?”

“With all due respect to that judge, I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law,” Leavitt snapped. “We are appealing that decision, as you know we expect a hearing on it pretty quickly, and we’re very confident in the president’s legal authority to do this, and we are very confident we will win on the merits of the law.”

Collins pressed further. “But no local officials that you can point to that have said we need the National Guard?” she shot back. “Because I spoke to the police chief of Portland last week, he said that the president’s claims just don’t match up with what’s happening on the ground.”

Leavitt responded, “I would encourage you as a reporter to go on the ground and to take a look at it for yourself.”

“Because there’s been many members of the press, not press in this room, but independent journalists, some of whom we’ll be inviting to the White House very soon to share their stories, because they have been in the middle of these riots, and they have witnessed the anarchy that is taking place night after night,” she continued. “It’s on video. You should play it on your show. You have a great opportunity in primetime on CNN to show your audience.”

“You’re probably talking to partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this president does,” Leavit jabbed. “You should also ask the people who live in Portland. We’ve actually heard from many members of the community who have said that this is complete civil disobedience. It’s a mess. It’s been loud. It’s been troubling for neighbors in the community who are just trying to live peacefully. And these people are not there to peacefully protest. They are there to cause mayhem and havoc.”

Tensions with Trump amid riots and chaos

Videos from Portland show black-clad, left-wing protesters regularly clashing with law enforcement outside an ICE facility. Residents say their once-quiet neighborhoods have turned into a nonstop racket of protests and tension.

Independent journalist Katie Daviscourt even ended up with a black eye after being attacked by an Antifa protester. Locals are caught in the middle, trapped between protesters railing against Trump’s immigration crackdown and federal authorities determined to assert control.

The Portland situation is part of a bigger storm brewing between the White House and blue-state governors. Trump’s latest push to use National Guard troops from Texas to “restore order” in Democratic cities from Portland to Chicago has met fierce resistance.

On Sunday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker accused Trump of trying to “invade” his state. He claimed roughly 400 National Guard troops were being sent to Chicago to deal with anti-ICE protesters and what Trump has branded his “war on crime.”

“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion,” Pritzker posted on X. “No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state's military troops.”