Leavitt Blasts MAGA-Coded Network CBS Over Airtime Snub
The White House press secretary was unhappy about the paucity of media coverage of a story pushed by the Trump administration.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has bashed CBS over its coverage of a story about the alleged murder of a young woman by an illegal immigrant that has been championed by the Trump administration.
Leavitt criticized CBS—which has been more aligned with Donald Trump under new boss Bari Weiss—as well as ABC News and NBC, two networks that have become frequent targets of the president’s disdain.
She complained that CBS had devoted just two minutes and one second to TV coverage of the murder of Sheridan Gorman, a young woman who was allegedly shot and killed by an illegal alien from Venezuela.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
Leavitt said ABC News spent 1 minute and 19 seconds on the case, and NBC spent 23 seconds on the story.
The press secretary used a Fox News graphic to illustrate her claim that the networks had underplayed the story.
“Just last week, Sheridan Gorman, a young woman in Chicago, was shot and killed on the street walking with her friends outside of her university by an illegal alien from Venezuela, who had no right to be here in the first place,” said Leavitt.
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She continued: “It’s despicable that Democrats are currently defunding the department that’s responsible for removing illegal aliens like that.
Leavitt showed photos of Sheridan Gorman, who was killed on March 19, during a press briefing last week.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters
“And I would also add it’s despicable that the lack of coverage of this young woman’s case, of her life, and the way that it was tragically cut short. I saw a survey over the weekend that I’d like to bring to all of your attention,” she added, holding up the Fox News illustration.
“This is the media coverage of the case of Sheridan Gorman. You have ABC News has spent one minute and 19 seconds between two days when this case was first alerted. You have CBS, two minutes and one second. You have NBC, 23 seconds spent on the life of a young, beautiful American woman whose life was taken short by an illegal alien who should have never been here in the first place when we are in the middle of a battle on Capitol Hill with a major political party, the Democrat party, who wants to defund the agency that is responsible for protecting Americans.
“I think her life was worth more than 23 seconds on cable television, and I think the people in this room have a responsibility to report on cases like this because it just exemplifies why the president believes so strongly in deporting illegal aliens from our communities.”
CBS has taken a rightward turn under new boss Bari Weiss, and its parent company, Paramount Skydance, is pushing a deal to buy Warner Brothers Discovery, owners of CNN, the cable news channel Trump has repeatedly criticized as being biased against him.
Paramount Skydance is run by David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, who is a close friend of Trump. CBS has been contacted for comment.
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