Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt says ‘hatred has no place’ in US - and gets immediately fact-checked

In the latest case of US president Donald Trump’s past posts on social media undermining remarks made during his time in office, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that “hatred has no place” in America under her boss’ administration – despite “hateful” being a word used to describe the Republican’s language and actions on many occasions in the past.

Leavitt made the comments following the fatal shooting of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim – a couple who worked at Israel’s embassy in Washington D.C. and were about to become engaged – as they left an event at a Jewish museum on Wednesday evening.

She said: “The Department of Justice will be prosecuting the perpetrator responsible for this to the fullest extent of the law. Hatred has no place in the United States of America under President Donald Trump.”

However, social media users soon questioned this claim, with several referring to a Truth Social post from Trump back in September when he declared “I hate Taylor Swift”, in all caps:

Another asked if there was a “greater perpetrator of hatred than the Donald”:

While a third argued “the entire MAGA movement” supporting Trump is “based on hatred”:

As a reminder, Trump voiced his dislike for Swift after the “Bad Blood” singer endorsed Democrat and rival presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the run-up to the 2024 election, with the musician signing off her Instagram post with “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady” – an apparent swipe at remarks made by the Republican’s running mate, JD Vance.

Swift issued the endorsement following the presidential debate between Harris and Trump, with the latter telling Fox News’ Fox & Friends in a phone call the next morning that he “was not a Taylor Swift fan”.

He launched another attack on Swift earlier this month, when he asked on Truth Social: “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’”

When asked about the post during a White House briefing, Leavitt said: “He is speaking about Taylor Swift’s political views and how perhaps it has impacted the support of the American public for her work, and I will leave it at that.”

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