Who is Danielle Kurtzleben? Laura Loomer claims to identify the correspondent who hit Trump in the face with a boom mic on tarmac

Political activist Lara Loomer recently took to X on March 16, 2025, claiming that she has identified Danielle Kurtzleben as the reporter who hit President Trump in the face with a boom mic on the tarmac.

The incident took place on March 14, 2025, during Trump's departure from Washington D.C when media personnel asked him questions about Gaza at a military airport. At the time, a reporter accidentally hit the president's face with a mic resulting in getting a disapproving stare from Trump. In her tweet, identifying the reporter, Laura Loomer mentioned:

"I have identified the reporter who hit President @realDonaldTrump in the face with a boom mic this week while he was speaking to the press on the tarmac. Her name is Danielle Kurtzleben @titonka."

Danielle Kurtzleben is a political correspondent for NPR's Washington Desk and is a part of NPR shows in addition to writing for the web. Kurtzleben often appears on The NPR Politics Podcast. Additionally, she covered the 2024 presidential election with a keen focus on gender politics and economic policy.

Some of Kurtzleben's recent work comprises coverage of President Trump's administration's executive orders and their impact on federal workers including individuals identifying as intersex, non-binary, and transgender.

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More details about Danielle Kurtzleben, the reporter who reportedly hit Trump with a mic

Danielle Kurtzleben is a native of Titonka, Iowa with a bachelor's degree in English from Carleton College and a master's degree in global communication from George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Kurtzleben initially worked with the U.S. News and World Report for approximately four years covering campaign finance, economy, and demographic issues.

Additionally, she launched a data visualization blog called Data Mine on the U.S. News website during her time as an associate editor. As per NPR's official website, Danielle Kurtzleben spent one year as a correspondent for Vox.com before she became a part of NPR in 2015.

She covered business and economics-related news as a part of Vox.com's original reporting team.

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"Did you see that"- Startled President Trump reacts to allegedly getting hit in the face with a boom mic

Videos of the incident of a reporter's boom mic hitting Trump in the face have gone viral wherein the president looks discontent with the same. Trump gave an immediate reaction to the same, allegedly referring to Kurtzleben and stating:

"She made television tonight, she just became a big story tonight."

Turning to the reporter whose mic hit him, the President expressed his disbelief and said:

"Did you see that?"

Additionally, in her tweet claiming Kurtzleben's mic hit Trump, Laura Loomer mentioned:

"She is the newly appointed White House reporter for @NPR and a massive Trump hater and LGBTQ advocate who once suggested during the 2024 campaign that Trump only spoke in Howell, Michigan because it has ties to the KKK. Did she hit President Trump in the face on purpose?"

Additionally, Loomer shared a few screenshots of Kurztleben's work calling out Trump dubbing her a "massive Trump hater and advocate of Trans issues". Laura Loomer added that she didn't think the NPR correspondent hit Trump in the face accidentally.

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Danielle Kurtzleben hasn't commented on the incident concerning the President at the military airport yet. However, Republicans like Lauren Boebart and Charlie Kirk have expressed their discontent with her on the matter.