'Pure cult spin': Leavitt uses press conference to rage against media after Trump’s failed summit

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 19, 2025. REUTERS/Al Drago

In a series of sharp criticisms, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the media for its coverage of President Donald Trump’s Alaska Summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, claiming despite the goalposts that Trump himself had set but did not meet, it was “highly productive” and “successful.”

President Trump had said the goal of the Alaska talks was a ceasefire, and warned that there would be severe economic consequences for Russia if no ceasefire agreement was reached, as CBS News reported.

No ceasefire agreement came, and Trump declared that to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine would need to cede territory to Russia, despite Russia being the aggressor.

But Leavitt on Tuesday told a different story, attacking what she claimed was “the media’s negative and downright false coverage of President Trump and his foreign policy accomplishments.”

“Initially, the media ridiculously claimed that President Trump was somehow beholden to Russia for even agreeing to have a face-to-face discussion with President Putin inside of the United States,” she declared. “The media said President Trump was making a grave mistake by, quote, ‘legitimizing Putin.’ They were aghast that President Trump would treat another world leader like a world leader.”

Indeed, many were angered that Putin, who is facing an arrest warrant for war crimes from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, was invited onto U.S. soil and then given the red carpet treatment.

“We also saw yesterday the president of Ukraine and all of the other major leaders of Europe fly across the Atlantic Ocean to meet President Trump at the White House because of the progress that was made, and that if you ask the media failed meeting, but it was not,” she insisted.

Leavitt repeated her claim that the European leaders flew across the ocean on just 48 hours notice because of all the progress that had been made by President Trump.

“In fact, there was so much progress in the readout that was given to these European leaders immediately following his meeting with President Putin that every single one of them got on a plane, 48 hours later, and flew to the United States of America,” Leavitt told reporters.

Seven European leaders attended the White House meeting with President Trump and President Zelenskyy, but some reports suggested it was to show unity and support, not because of any achievements that came from Friday’s meeting.

“The leaders personally came to support Ukraine and to discuss everything that will bring us closer to real peace, to a reliable security architecture that will protect Ukraine and all of Europe,” President Zelenskyy wrote on Monday night.

“The leaders showed unity, with Zelenskyy and European allies stressing the need for security guarantees in an eventual peace deal to deter Russia from invading in the future,” CBS News reported.

Critics disagreed with Leavitt’s claims.

Veteran journalist Michael McGough labeled Levitt’s remarks the “Spin of the day.”

“This is pure cult spin,” declared Wall Street banker Evaristus Odinikaeze. “European leaders didn’t jump on planes to D.C. because they were inspired by Trump’s ‘progress’ with Putin, they came because they were alarmed and terrified that he was about to sell Ukraine down the river. Leavitt is turning a fire alarm into a fanfare. When allies rush across the Atlantic in 48 hours, it’s not to celebrate, it’s to stop a disaster. In fact, the Finnish President Alex Stubb alluded to this when he told Trump the Finnish history after the Second World War.”

Watch the video below or at this link.