Todd Blanche praises Karoline Leavitt before calling time on press conference: 'I'm done!'

WASHINGTON,DC: Attorney General Todd Blanche, on Tuesday, September 15, appeared ready to leave the Rose Garden briefing when he suddenly shifted from defending the Trump administration’s election policies to praising the former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

His closing remarks turned an otherwise heavy appearance into a light exchange, complete with a blunt declaration that he had stayed longer than planned and a teasing comment about reporters sweating in the heat.

Blanche praises Karoline Leavitt

Blanche began wrapping up the briefing by making it clear that he would not take any more questions.

“Can I just say I’m done with questions,” he said.

“I stayed ten minutes longer than I was supposed to.”

He then credited Karoline Leavitt for handling the White House press briefing for as long as she did.

“I will tell you the fact that Karoline Leavitt did this for as long as she did is incredible,” Blanche said, before thanking reporters for allowing him to appear.

His next remark was less diplomatic.

“I’m very sorry that you’re sweating,” Blanche told the journalists gathered outside. “I’m not really sorry.”

He then returned to Leavitt, publicly thanking her for her work on behalf of President Donald Trump.

“She’s a lot better than me,” Blanche said, appearing to compare his own brief appearance with Leavitt’s regular press briefings.

Leavitt responded to the clip on X, writing, “Todd is the best!” alongside a laughing emoji.

DOJ defends election investigations

Blanche’s lighter exchange with reporters came after a briefing dominated by questions about elections and the Justice Department’s next steps following a Supreme Court ruling that affects the Trump administration’s handling of mail-in voting.

The acting attorney general said the department would abide by the ruling while maintaining that the administration still had a broad role to play in protecting election integrity.

“We’re of course going to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision, as we always do,” Blanche told reporters.

He then stressed that following the court’s ruling would not stop the administration from pursuing its election-related efforts.

“That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to do everything in this administration that we can to make sure that there are free and fair elections,” he said.

Blanche also argued that the ruling does not prevent the Justice Department from investigating potential violations of federal voting laws.

He said criminal probes involving alleged unlawful voting could continue despite the court’s decision.