WASHINGTON – Children took over the White House press briefing ‒ and they asked what’s on everyone’s mind.
Does President Donald Trump like to give hugs?
“Yes, I do think he likes to give hugs,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded.
What is his favorite food? “He likes to eat big, beautiful steak,” Leavitt said.
The occasion was “Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day.” To belatedly celebrate the event, the White House welcomed the children of reporters who make up the White House press corps and White House staff to the press briefing room on May 20. Leavitt brought her baby boy.
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Young children sat in the seats their mom or dad usually occupied and demanded answers ‒ with sweet, high-pitched voices ‒ on Trump’s favorite flavor of ice cream (an ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce and toppins) and his favorite president besides himself (George Washington, Leavitt guessed, but wasn’t 100% certain.)
One of the kid reporters, however, posed a much more audacious ‒ and timely ‒ question: “How many people has he fired?” a little girl, probably about 4 years old, asked from the front row.
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions from the children of journalists and staff members during a news conference on “Take Our Sons And Daughters To Work Day” in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 20, 2025.
Leavitt laughed, then said: “Thus far, actually, we’ve not had anyone fired, with the exception of one individual who did leave their job, but we have a great team here. So far, so good.”
Leavitt did not specify who she was referencing. Perhaps she meant Mike Waltz, Trump’s former national security adviser, who left his position on May 1 before Trump nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United States.
Trump, of course, earned a reputation for being quick to fire White House aides during his first term. Before then, “You’re fired” was Trump’s go-to line during his run on NBC’s “The Apprentice.”
Children of journalists and staff members sit on the front row of the Brady Press Briefing Room on “Take Our Sons And Daughters To Work Day” at the White House on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
And since returning to the White House, Trump has taken a battering ram to the federal workforce.
During the first four months of his second term, the Trump administration ‒ with help from Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency ‒ has fired tens of thousands of employees from the federal workforce, with even more choosing to resign through buyouts, in a push to gut the federal bureaucracy.
The White House has not said how many federal workers have been fired through the DOGE cuts. But an analysis from Reuters found the Trump administration had cut 12% of the 2.3 million federal civilian workforce, with about 260,000 taking buyouts or other incentives to quit.
Among other questions at the briefing, one child asked, which “superpower” does Trump wish he had?
“It would be just to snap his fingers and solve all of our country’s problems – just like that,” Leavitt said. “Because he likes to get things done very quickly.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a Press Briefing for Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 20, 2025.
A young boy wanted to know how much candy Trump eats a day. “A good amount of candy,” Leavitt said. “He likes pink Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls.”
But there was one question that Leavitt struggled to respond to with just one answer.
“What’s your least favorite news outlet?” a boy asked.
Leavitt looked down toward her lectern and laughed. “I can tell you’re a staff kid. Not a journalist’s kid,” she said, adding with a smile: “Honestly, it depends on the day.”
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘How many people has he fired?’ young girl asks Trump press secretary
