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In New Mexico, we understand that trust matters. Whether we are talking about our neighbors, our local communities, our elected officials, or the federal government, people deserve the truth from those who serve them.
A recent opinion piece by Glenn Kessler raises serious questions about the credibility of outgoing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and, more broadly, the responsibility of a White House to provide accurate information to the American people.
One example goes back to Leavitt's first White House briefing, when she defended the Trump administration's freeze on federal grants by claiming that $50 million in taxpayer money was going toward condoms in Gaza. Kessler investigated that claim and found serious problems with it. The available information did not support what Americans had been told, yet the claim continued to circulate without a clear public correction.
That matters.
A White House press secretary is not simply speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C. That person is speaking to all of us—including families in Albuquerque, farmers and ranchers in rural New Mexico, Tribal communities, small-business owners, veterans, seniors, students, and working people across our state.
New Mexicans depend heavily on decisions made by the federal government. Federal funding touches our roads, schools, health care, public lands, Tribal programs, national laboratories, military installations, water infrastructure, and many other parts of everyday life. When Washington talks about freezing funding or changing federal programs, New Mexicans deserve accurate information about what is actually happening.
Republican or Democrat, conservative or progressive, the standard should remain the same: Tell the American people the truth.
Every administration is going to make mistakes. Every press secretary will sometimes get something wrong. The real test of leadership is what happens afterward. Do you acknowledge the mistake? Do you correct the record? Or do you repeat the claim and hope people stop asking questions?
There was once a basic expectation that the White House briefing room represented more than political messaging. Presidents and press secretaries have always argued with reporters and defended their administrations. Politics has never been free of spin. But the podium also carries an enormous responsibility because the words spoken there can travel across the country within seconds.
That responsibility has not disappeared just because our politics have become more divided.
Here in New Mexico, we know Washington can sometimes feel thousands of miles away. But decisions made there eventually reach our communities. They reach Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Farmington, Gallup, Santa Fe, Española, Roswell, and the smallest communities in our state.
That is why credibility matters.
We should question what we hear. We should check the facts. And we should expect our government—no matter which political party controls it—to correct the record when it gets something wrong.
Trust in government is difficult to build and remarkably easy to lose. Once that trust disappears, rebuilding it can take years.
New Mexicans deserve better than political talking points. We deserve facts, transparency, accountability, and leaders willing to tell us the truth—even when the truth is inconvenient.
Because at the end of the day, the White House belongs to the American people, and the American people deserve an honest answer.
Click here to watch the video
https://www.ms.now/opinion/karoline-leavitt-white-house-press-secretary-credibility
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