By Ray Cardello for February 20, 2026, Season 34 / Post 21

The Thursday press briefing was punctuated with a question from a reporter that made Press Secretary Leavitt stop in her tracks. It was not a difficult question about the buildup of our military in the Middle East, or about the tariffs and their contribution to higher prices, or even one on China and Taiwan that stumped Sandy Cortez on her ill-advised visit to the German Security Summit. No, this question came from Ed O’Keefe of CBS News, who, with a straight face, asked Caroline Leavitt for specific instances where President Donald Trump was called a racist?

Leavitt recovered quickly, and after admonishing O’Keefe for asking such a foolish question, she promised that her staff would supply a plethora of examples of Democrats and members of the media openly calling Donald Trump a racist. O’Keefe knows the information exists and seeking such evidence was not the purpose of his question. O’Keefe is not a reporter or journalist, but rather, a pawn. He is a tool of CBS or whoever put up some dark money to get him to ask such a foolish question in the briefing room.

The purpose of the question was to write the narrative of the day. With a seemingly foolish question, he set in motion a day-long discussion on every news outlet, podcast, and video, the presumption that Donald Trump is a racist. People on the Left would not hear these stories and understand the nexus for why there was even a discussion. The Left, which deals in feelings and emotions rather than facts, will have their heads filled throughout the day that Donald Trump, the President of the United States and leader of the free world, was a racist. O’Keefe had done his job, but the problem is that nobody knows for whom he performed the duty for.

This incident is a great example of the role of the mainstream or legacy media in today’s politics. For them, their job is not about reporting the news, but about being a news maker. Like Don Lemon at the church in St. Paul or Ed O’keefe in the Brady Briefing Room, these progressive media hacks want to be in front of the lens, and not always behind it.

O’Keefe took one for the team. He was well aware that he would be criticised for his question, on both sides of the table. He was not looking for a smart or snappy retort from Leavitt, he was hoping to generate negative publicity and create a narrative for the Left that Donald Trump is a racist, dangerous for the country, and a man who must be stopped. The fact that this was done during Black History Month should not go unrecognized,as the Left is hoping to offset the positive impact of Trump meeting with Black women in the Oval, who are singing his praises as the President who looks out for the best interests of the Black and Brown population and who has taken the support of Blacks and Latinos away from the Democrats. The Left will do whatever it can, and as underhanded as they have to be, to get this voting bloc back in its corner. This reporter’s stunt was just one example. There will be more.