Leavitt Slams N.Y. Times Over 'False' Trump Health Story

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spared no mercy for The New York Times at the end of Monday's press briefing, delivering a knockout punch regarding the outlet's recent story questioning the health of President Donald Trump.

The briefing aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.

Leavitt was asked about Monday's launch of an online media-bias portal, which the White House said in a news release will catalog "the avalanche of lies, deliberate distortions, and manufactured hoaxes churned out by activist 'journalists' and their failing outlets."

She said the new site ties directly to the administration's vow to hold the media responsible for its reporting.

"I think it goes to our original promise on day1to hold the media accountable because, unfortunately — and we deal with this all day, every day around here — there are so many fake stories that are unfortunately written that have inaccurate characterizations of meetings that took place," Leavitt said. "And it's all based on anonymous sourcing.

"And, you know, the standard for journalism, unfortunately, has dropped to such a historic low in this country.

"And again, we deal with it every day where you can have an anonymous source who has no idea what they're talking about. Zero credibility.

"Call up a reporter in Washington and say, hey, I heard this, and then the next thing you know, it's on the front page of The New York Times. It's really incomprehensible."

Leavitt said she appreciates journalists, "some of whom are in this room," who reach out for comment and "try to get things right."

"But overwhelmingly, the fake news that we see pumped out of this building on a day-to-day basis, it's honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all and to constantly have to defend against these fake news and these attacks," she said.

Leavitt then pointed to a story the Times published Nov. 25 with the headline "Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office," written by Katie Rogers and Dylan Freedman.

"I will point out one fake news story over the weekend, before I let you all go, from The New York Times that took about one-third of the president's daily calendar in his daily schedule and said that he's doing less than he did in his first term, or he might not be fit for the job," she said. "That is unequivocally false."

Leavitt then held up a photocopy of an article written by Rogers following an incident involving former President Joe Biden on Air Force One. Republicans frequently contended Biden's fitness was not scrutinized by mainstream media outlets despite concerns over his cognitive sharpness.

"And it's deeply unfortunate that this story was written by the same outlet and the same reporter who wrote this: 'Biden is doing 100% fine after tripping while boarding Air Force One,'" she said.

"Oh. Same outlet, same reporter who wrote that President Trump is not fit for the job.

"Are you kidding me? You all see him almost every single day.

"He is the most accessible president in history. He is taking meetings around the clock."

She then held up another photocopy of a Times story written by Rogers and Dr. Lawrence K. Altman regarding Biden.

"Another one: 'Biden declared,' quote, 'healthy and vigorous after his first presidential physical,'" Leavitt said. "I don't see headlines like that too often about this president.

"Again, same reporter, same outlet who wrote falsely over the weekend that President Trump is not fit for the job.

"I can assure you, he absolutely is. You all see that with your own eyes on a daily basis, and the president's physician has now given you all three detailed reports on the state of the president's health.

"So, with that, I will leave you all, and we'll see you tomorrow. Thank you."

Leavitt then briskly walked out of the briefing room.

Charlie Stadtlander, the Times' executive director for media relations and communications, responded with a statement to Newsmax:

"The Times' White House team, including Katie Rogers, the same reporter Ms. Leavitt singled out today, [has] reported without fear or favor across multiple administrations from both parties. Katie's reporting on President Biden was just as unflinching as it has been on President Trump, despite cherry-picked headlines attempting to prove something that simply isn't true."