White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt skillfully called out NBC reporter Peter Alexander’s attempt to undermine her statements regarding fraudulent practices within the Social Security system during a recent interaction with the press. Leavitt brought the issue to the forefront, questioning the motives of those against reform: “It’s a clever question. First of all, I think all Americans would agree that funding mastectomies in Mozambique is not something that the American people should be funding — or DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] programs — I think it’s fraudulent that the American government has been ripping off taxpayers in this way,” Leavitt stated, underscoring the necessity for reform for the benefit of the American taxpayers.
Leavitt cited an Inspector General report from the Social Security Administration, which revealed a staggering $71 billion in fraudulent practices over the years, emphasizing that this “is a lot of fraud” that needs to be addressed aggressively. “And we also do know there has been extensive fraud, particularly if you look at Social Security. In fact, according to an IG [Inspector General] report from the Social Security Administration, there was $71 billion worth of fraud in one single fiscal year that we know about. And so, that is a lot of fraud, Peter, that the government has admitted to. So this administration is committed to finding even more of that fraud, waste, and abuse,” she convincingly told Alexander.
The interaction became tense when Alexander attempted to diminish the severity of the issue by breaking down the fraud into a period between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, but Leavitt was unperturbed, standing firm on the alarming figure of $71 billion. Alexander’s efforts to lessen the impact of the fraud figures were skillfully deflected by Leavitt, who refused to allow the facts to be downplayed or disregarded. “To be clear, that $71 billion was from 2015 to 2022, so it wasn’t in just one year —” Alexander asserted, with Leavitt responding simply, “$71 billion.”
The facts are clear from the administration’s perspective. Contrary to the apparent agenda of some media outlets, Leavitt asked rhetorically if Alexander sided with misusing taxpayer funds, exposing a potential bias against accountability in government spending. Her response, “So are you defending $71 billion in fraud, Peter? That’s a lot of money. Far too much,” communicates the urgency and importance of tackling this issue head-on.
Leavitt expressed frustration with the media’s seemingly relentless campaign against President Trump’s initiatives to cut waste, fraud, and abuse. Her strong stance highlighted her alignment with hardworking American taxpayers troubled by economic pressures, stating, “We won’t be deterred — we will not be deterred from people like you and the press who are clearly adamantly opposed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse, but we know that American taxpayers at home, who have been struggling with an inflationary crisis, don’t want their tax dollars going towards crazy DEI programs in countries overseas.
VIDEO
Karoline Leavitt Smacks Down NBC News ‘Reporter’ With a Masterful Reply After He Pathetically Tries to Justify Government Waste and Fraud #Trump47 #DOGE pic.twitter.com/1T4oNiiki4 pic.twitter.com/QOZ4OXbqnN
— Sandy (@SD73660) February 21, 2025
They also don’t like the fact that there has been $71 billion worth of fraud in Social Security and improper payments going out the door. That’s a problem that needs to be fixed, and President Trump is going to fix it. That’s your fifth question.”