Karoline Leavitt Attacks Journalist at Briefing: ‘Only a Reporter From The New York Times Would Ask a Question Like That’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took a shot at New York Times reporter Shawn McCreesh on Tuesday after the journalist pressed her on President Donald Trump avoiding “disrespecting” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At a Tuesday White House press briefing, McCreesh asked Leavitt about Trump saying he did not call Putin while he was with European leaders because he thought it would be “disrespectful” to the Russian leader. Trump is in the midst of trying to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. A summit with Putin in Alaska did not lead to a ceasefire agreement.

“If the point is to get everybody on the same page, why wouldn’t Trump just take the call from Putin while the other leaders were in the room? He said it would be disrespectful to do that, but why is it disrespectful?” McCreesh asked.

“With all due respect, only a reporter from The New York Times would ask a question like that, Shawn,” Leavitt quipped.

In a Tuesday morning interview with Fox News, the president said he did not take a call from Putin while meeting with other European leaders out of respect.

“I didn’t do it in front of them. I thought that would be disrespectful to President Putin. You know, I wouldn’t do that, because they have not had the warmest relations. And actually, President Putin wouldn’t talk to the people from Europe. I mean, that was part of the problem,” he said.

Leavitt noted leaders were given a readout of the call and she touted the “progress” made in the conversation.

“You had President [Volodymyr] Zelensky himself saying it was a very good conversation. ‘It was really good. We spoke about very sensitive points.’ The secretary general, Mark Rutte, ‘it was only because of the president that this deadlock was broken with President Putin by starting a dialogue,'” she said. “So these leaders who this war is in their backyard are very grateful that the president took that call, and that he was there to provide them with a readout of Russia’s thinking on this, something that was not done by the previous administration.”

Check out the full exchange below:

SHAWN MCCREESH: If the point is to get everybody on the same page, why wouldn’t Trump just take the call from Putin while the other leaders were in the room? He said it would be disrespectful to do that, but why is it disrespectful?

KAROLINE LEAVITT: With all due respect, only a reporter from The New York Times would ask a question like that, Shawn. The president met with all of these European leaders at the White House 48 hours after sitting down with President Putin on American soil. 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. And if I could just read for all of you some the statements from those European leaders yesterday. You had President Zelensky himself saying it was a very good conversation. “It was really good. We spoke about very sensitive points.” The secretary general, Mark Rutte, “it was only because of the president that this deadlock was broken with President Putin by starting a dialogue. So these leaders who this war is in their backyard are very grateful that the president took that call, and that he was there to provide them with a readout of Russia’s thinking on this, something that was not done by the previous administration.

Watch above via Fox News.