White House responds to first American Pope Robert Prevost’s anti-MAGA posts

President Donald Trump‘s White House responded after first American Pope Robert Prevost’s anti-MAGA posts resurfaced after his election.

‘The president made his reaction to Pope Leo’s announcement yesterday he is very proud to have an American Pope,’ Catholic White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her briefing.

‘It’s a great thing… and we’re praying for him,’ she added without discussing the controversy around the new Pope’s posts.

Prevost made a series of social media posts critical of the president’s policies and often reposts sentiments critical of the Trump administration.

As a result after his election, MAGA unleashed on the Chicago native-turned Pope, calling him a ‘piece of s**t liberal’ on social media.

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Karoline Leavitt responds to ‘critical’ anti-Trump comments made by the new Pope

White House brushes off past X comments from Pope Leo

Karoline Leavitt, a devout Catholic, was asked about the ‘critical’ comments by Pope Leo on X about Trump and Vance.

A 2014 tweet is going viral where Prevost called Jesus a migrant and some of his social media content has been critical of the president.

Prevost specifically criticized the White House’s actions regarding immigration and in the past has expressed support for progressive causes.

The last time Prevost posted something to X was on April 14. The post he retweeted slams the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.

But Leavitt replied that the election of the first American Pope was a ‘surprise’ to everyone and avoided addressing the controversy head-on.

The president made his reaction to Pope Leo’s announcement yesterday very clear. He’s very proud to have an American pope.

I think it was a surprise to everyone, but it’s a great thing for the U.S. and the world and we are praying for him.

Trump reiterates that he could lower Chinese tariffs to 80 percent

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump again floated that he could push China’s tariff rate down to 80 percent when asked about it in the Oval Office Friday afternoon.

I put out a number today, 80 percent, so we’ll see how that all works out.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is headed to Switzerland to speak with his Chinese counterparts about the ongoing trade war.

The current tariffs on Chinese imports are at 145 percent.

Trump suggests 10 percent baseline tariffs are here to stay

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump said Friday that the baseline 10 percent tariff was here to stay.

The president was asked what would happen to countries that don’t apply tariffs to U.S. products and why they wouldn’t get a reciprocal deal.

‘You are always going to have a baseline,’ he replied. ‘I mean there could be an exception at some point. We’ll see if somebody does something exceptional for us. It’s always possible.’

‘But basically, you have a baseline of a minimum of 10 percent and some of them will be much higher – 40, 50, 60 percent as they’ve been doing to us over the years,’ he added.

Trump rolled out his first post-Liberation Day trade deal Thursday, between the U.S. and the U.K.

Newark mayor and two members of Congress arrested after storming New Jersey ICE facility

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, along with two members of Congress, have been arrested after storming into a migrant detention facility.

New Jersey Democratic Reps. Robert Menendez, Jr. and Bonnie Watson Coleman were arrested with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Some of the members claimed they were conducting ‘oversight’ when they walked into a secure area checkpoint and demanded to review the facility.

‘Members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk,’ DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

‘Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation.’

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., ripped the stunt on social media.

‘The House Democrats that just stormed an ICE detention facility are a disgrace. They care more about criminal illegal aliens than they do about Americans. Democratic leaders must condemn this stunt immediately.’

Furious Karoline Leavitt slams ‘frankly ridiculous’ claims Trump is profiting off the presidency

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the ‘frankly ridiculous’ claims that President Donald is profiting off the presidency.

During Friday’s press briefing, Leavitt was asked if Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, as well as son-in-law Jared Kushner, would be traveling alongside the president to the Middle East.

‘I am not tracking family members joining us at this time, but of course the First Family is welcome to come,’ the press secretary answered. ‘I hope they would, they are great people, great to be around.’

The president is going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over a three and a half day period, departing from the White House Monday.

His Trump Organization is developing luxury properties in all three Arab nations, with some deals inked as recently as last week, when son Eric, who serves as the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, made a trip to the region.

Kushner, who served in Trump’s first White House, started a private equity firm after leaving the administration and reportedly rececived a $2 billion investment from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In a follow-up question, Leavitt was asked if the president planned to meet with anyone involved in the family businesses or make site visits during the trip.

‘Not to my knowledge and let me just get to the premise of your question that both have you have raised,’ Leavitt responded. ‘I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in htis room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.’

Leavitt says it’s ‘ridiculous’ Trump is profiting off the presidency
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the ‘frankly ridiculous’ claims that President Donald Trump is profiting off the presidency.