Karoline Leavitt CNN s Kaitlan Collins spar over US soldiers killed in Iran war Trump coverage

You just mentioned that the president is going to attend the dignified transfer for these families. Given what Secretary Hegseth said this morning, is it the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. service members? No, it's the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room. If the Iranian regime had their choice, they would kill every single person in this room. And so we can all be very grateful that we have an administration and that we have men and women in our armed forces who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for the rest of us in this room and for every American across the country and for every troop that is based in the Middle East. That's what these... Secretary Hegseth was complaining that it was front page news about these six service members who were killed. That's not what the Secretary said, Caitlin, and that's not what the Secretary meant. And you know it. You know you are being disingenuous. There is not... We've never had a Secretary of Defense who cares more... He's told me he can't get through where tragic things happen. It's front page news. I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad. As you know, we cover the deaths of U.S. service members under every president. The press does only want to make the president look bad. That's a fact, especially you. No, listen to me. Especially you and especially CNN. And the Secretary of Defense cares deeply about our war fighters and our men and women in uniform. He travels all across this country to meet with them, to connect with them, and your network has hardly ever probably reported on that. You also have the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Chairman Kaine, who's a brave patriot, standing alongside the Secretary at the Pentagon this morning, again expressing his condolences to these families. And I just told you that the president of the United States will be attending their dignified transfer. So please... We're talking about their dignified transfer. That's not making the president look bad. That's showcasing that. We expect you to cover that as you should. We expect you to cover that as you should, Kaitlan. But you and your network know that you take every single thing this administration says and tries to use it to make the president look bad. That is an objectable fact. I don't think covering troop deaths is trying to make the president look bad. If you're trying to argue right now that CNN's overwhelming coverage is not negative of President Donald Trump, I think the American people would tend to agree. And your ratings would tend to disagree with that as well.