Press Sec: Trump’s first 6 months; to negotiate ceasefire & hostages released; Hunter Biden on USAID

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a comprehensive six-month scorecard for Trump’s second term. Inflation “now running at a 2.1 percent annual rate.” Zero illegal aliens released into the country last month. Wars ended — “India and Pakistan” — with the Russia-Ukraine effort ongoing. Iranian nuclear sites “completely obliterated.” Ongoing Israel-Gaza ceasefire negotiations with hostage releases already achieved, including “the last living American hostage Edan Alexander.” DEI abolished from federal government and military. Men banned from women’s sports. Children’s Hospital in DC announcing it will “no longer going to be prescribing puberty blockers to minors.” Hunter Biden called USAID “the greatest force for diplomacy that the United States had” — prompting the administration’s response that $20 million for Iraqi Sesame Street was not America’s greatest diplomatic asset. Trump’s 60 Minutes clip with Lesley Stahl showed her repeatedly insisting “no evidence” of spying on his campaign. “Leslie, they spied on my campaign … they got caught."

"Inflation Is Now Running at 2.1%”

Leavitt opened with the top-of-list delivery. “The president really promised the American people many things, but at the top of that list was to defeat the Biden inflation crisis and to secure our border in our homeland. And I think you’ve all seen in six months time the president has delivered on those two core campaign promises.”

“Inflation is now running at a 2.1 percent annual rate.”

Two-point-one percent. That is the cleaner annualized headline CPI rate, running at or near the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Coming from the 9%-peak inflation of the Biden years, 2.1% is a dramatic deceleration. The Fed target has been reached in the headline measure, even as the central bank continues to hold rates.

“You look at our southern border, look at the numbers just last month. Zero illegal aliens were released into our country.”

Zero releases. Multiple consecutive months. The border metric has continued to be the administration’s cleanest delivery. Apprehensions collapsed. Releases at zero.

”Wars Like India and Pakistan”

“He has ended wars wars like India and Pakistan.”

That is a specific claim. The India-Pakistan tensions over the disputed Kashmir region had, in the months before Trump’s second term began, escalated to levels not seen in years. Trump’s personal diplomacy with both countries — leveraging each country’s desire for U.S. trade access — was credited with de-escalating the conflict. Whether the de-escalation fully qualifies as “ending a war” is debatable; significant border tensions remain. But the immediate escalation that had been feared was averted.

“He continues to work aggressively to end the war in Russia and Ukraine.”

Ongoing. The 50-day ultimatum to Russia is still running. The NATO-funded-weapons arrangement is now operational. The situation is fluid.

”Completely Obliterated Iran’s Nuclear Sites”

“He completely obliterated Iran’s nuclear sites.”

“Completely obliterated” is the administration’s strongest characterization of the Iran strike damage. Intelligence assessments have been more cautious, with public statements acknowledging significant damage while leaving room for uncertainty about how much of Iran’s nuclear program was actually destroyed versus merely disrupted. Leavitt’s framing adopts the maximalist version.

“Continued to hopefully negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza to end that conflict and release all of the hostages. We’ve seen many of the hostages released as a result of this president’s efforts.”

The Israel-Gaza diplomatic track — hostages, ceasefire, reconstruction — is one of the administration’s priority threads. The administration’s framing is that hostage releases have already occurred under Trump-brokered efforts, including one later-specified case: Edan Alexander, “the last living American hostage.”

DEI, Women’s Sports, and Puberty Blockers

“To abolish DEI from our federal government and our military to effectively end men in women’s sports. Which is a huge common-sense policy that the American people support.”

DEI programs across federal agencies have been dismantled through executive orders and subsequent agency-level implementation. The Department of Defense has specifically reshaped its approach — removing DEI coordinators, eliminating DEI training requirements, restricting gender-identity-based accommodations that conflicted with the reshaped posture.

Men in women’s sports — the administration’s terminology for transgender women competing in women’s athletic categories — has been addressed through executive order restricting federal funding to educational institutions that allow such competition. The NCAA and many state athletic associations have realigned accordingly.

“And then if you look at the president’s strong executive orders that have effectively ended the chemical castration of young children in our country just today Washington DC Children’s Hospital in this city has announced. They are no longer going to be prescribing puberty blockers to minors.”

“Chemical castration of young children” is the rhetorical characterization the administration uses for puberty blockers prescribed to gender-dysphoric minors. Whether that terminology is medically accurate is contested. The policy outcome is clear: DC Children’s Hospital has announced it will no longer prescribe puberty blockers to minors. Similar decisions have been made at major medical centers around the country in the wake of administration pressure.

”This Is a Huge Win for America and Our Children”

The administration’s framing of the pediatric gender-medicine reversal is unambiguous. “This is a huge win for America and our children.” That framing positions the administration as the restorer of traditional developmental medicine — contrasted with what the administration characterizes as an ideologically captured professional establishment that had departed from evidence-based practice.

The medical establishment’s response has been more complex. Some of the reversal is happening because major hospitals are reassessing risk-benefit profiles. Some is happening because of litigation exposure. Some is happening because of direct federal pressure. The causal mix is specific to each institution, but the outcome — fewer minors receiving puberty blockers — is the consistent pattern.

”Six Months … Accomplished So Much”

“There’s certainly more work to do and the president is doing it right now. And he will continue for the next three and a half years, but certainly we’ve accomplished so much in just six months.”

“Three and a half years.” That is the administration’s forward framing. Twelve remaining quarters of second-term work, with the six-month report card establishing the pace and trajectory.

Hunter Biden on USAID

The segment then pivoted to a different tone. Hunter Biden, in a separate clip, said of USAID: “Literally the greatest force for diplomacy that the United States had I can say I can attest to my personal experience is USAID.”

That is the Biden-family talking point on USAID, which has been one of the administration’s specific targets for rescissions and reorganization. USAID’s programming includes international soft-power initiatives that administration critics have characterized as waste — including funded episodes of Sesame Street in Iraq ($20 million referenced in the coverage).

“Future historians studying the demise of the media should study this video” is the ironic framing the administration’s allies deployed. If Hunter Biden is the articulator of USAID’s diplomatic case, and the articulation depends on $20 million Sesame Street episodes as exemplars, the defense of USAID as institutionally effective weakens rather than strengthens.

”And He’s Walking With an Ice Cream”

One of the stranger fragments in the transcript captures media coverage of the President during the 60 Minutes interview. “And he’s walking with a ice cream and the question the media asked him what kind of ice cream what flavor ice cream do you have and he’s in the midst of a scandal.”

The “scandal” framing is clearly 60 Minutes/CBS framing, which Leavitt is quoting back sardonically. The president was filmed carrying an ice cream. CBS asked about the flavor. The press secretary is pointing out that the supposed scandal was so substantive that the network chose to highlight ice cream flavor instead.

Trump to Lesley Stahl: “They Spied On My Campaign”

Trump’s response to Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes is the highlight exchange. “No. Come on. Of course. He is it’s the biggest second biggest scandal So the biggest scandal was when they spy to my campaign they spy to my campaign.”

Stahl’s response: “There’s no real evidence of that.”

Trump: “Of course there is it’s all over the place Leslie sir by to my campaign and they can I say something this is 60 minutes.”

“And we can’t put on things we can’t verify it on because it’s bad for Biden.”

“We can’t put on things we can’t.”

“Leslie they spy to my campaign we can’t verify totally verified no. It’s been just go down and get the papers they spy to my campaign.”

That exchange is the encapsulation. Stahl repeatedly insists “no evidence” of spying. Trump repeatedly insists the evidence is totally verified and publicly available. The Inspector General report on FBI Carter Page FISA warrants — issued by Michael Horowitz — did document significant FBI misconduct in surveillance of Page, who was a Trump campaign adviser. Whether that constitutes “spying on my campaign” is the semantic distinction Stahl was pressing. Trump’s framing is that surveillance of a campaign adviser with doctored evidence qualifies as spying.

”They Got Caught”

“They got caught no and then they went much further than that and they got caught and you will see that Leslie and you know that But you just don’t want to know.”

“They got caught” is the phrase Trump returned to. The IG report documented specific FBI agent misconduct in the FISA process. Some of the agents involved were disciplined. One, Kevin Clinesmith, was convicted of altering an email used in the FISA application.

“You will see that Leslie” — Trump’s signal that more of the Russia-probe reassessment is coming. Gabbard’s DNI document releases, discussed elsewhere, are the operational continuation of that signal.

”Top Priority”

Leavitt returned to the Israel-Gaza hostage effort. “As a matter of fact I don’t know he wants to negotiate a ceasefire in this region. He wants to see all of the hostages released from Gaza that has been a top priority for this president within this six months.”

“We have seen many of the hostages released including the last living American hostage Edan Alexander which was a result of this administration’s diplomatic efforts and approach to ending this conflict.”

Edan Alexander — the last living American hostage held by Hamas — was released earlier in the term. Leavitt is crediting the administration’s diplomatic approach specifically.

“And again this is another conflict that the president inherited from the previous administration who was so weak and incompetent. It led to so much chaos and death around the world, but this president is focused on solving it.”

“Inherited” is the framing the administration has deployed consistently across Ukraine, Gaza, and other ongoing conflicts. The argument: the current president is not the cause of the wars; he is the one working to end them, having inherited the situations from the weakness of the preceding administration.

The Six-Month Report Card

The item list is long: inflation tamed, border secured, wars de-escalated or ended, nuclear sites destroyed, hostages released, DEI abolished, women’s sports protected, gender-affirming care for minors rolled back. Plus the earlier items: tariff revenue flowing, Treasury surplus, record markets, the GENIUS Act, the HALT Fentanyl Act, the rescissions package, the Obama-era Russiagate reassessment.

Six months produced this ledger. Whether the second six months can maintain the tempo will be one of the defining questions of the next cycle.

Key Takeaways

• Six-month Trump scorecard: inflation at 2.1%, zero illegal alien releases, wars ended (India-Pakistan), Iran’s nuclear sites “completely obliterated,” ongoing hostage releases from Gaza.
• DEI “abolished from our federal government and our military,” “effectively ended men in women’s sports,” and “just today Washington DC Children’s Hospital … no longer going to be prescribing puberty blockers to minors.”
• Hunter Biden called USAID “the greatest force for diplomacy that the United States had” — with the administration mocking that $20 million for Iraqi Sesame Street was the exemplar.
• Trump vs. Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes over spying: Stahl: “there’s no real evidence of that” — Trump: “Leslie, they spied on my campaign … it’s all over the place … they got caught.”
• “The last living American hostage Edan Alexander” was released as a result of Trump administration diplomatic efforts in Gaza — with more ceasefire and hostage work ongoing.