President Donald Trump, 79, lashed out at one of his own staffers during a televised appearance in the Oval Office.
On Aug. 25, Trump spoke with the media at an executive order signing ceremony inside the White House. The press conference was briefly interrupted by an unexpected noise.
While attempting to speak about the stock market, Trump stopped mid-sentence to address someone, causing a loud distraction on the other side of the camera.
“Hello, who is that?” the New York City-bred politician asked, as what sounded like noise from a phone call could be heard in the background. “Who’s that? Who is that back there? Alright, get out of the room.”
Unknown individuals, likely other members of Trump’s staff, began laughing when the Republican Party leader demanded the interrupter exit the room. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stood behind the president.
According to The Daily Mail, White House staff secretary Will Scharf was identified as the person who disrupted Trump. Scharf typically serves as the administration official who hands the president documents to sign during executive order photo ops.
Trump kicking Scharf out of the Oval Office sparked a lot of reactions online. Social media users flooded Instagram to share their takes on the former host of “The Apprentice” getting agitated with one of his West Wing insiders.
“Good. He is demanding manners back into our house. You want to [show] disrespect then get out,” a Trump supporter wrote in The Daily Mail’s Instagram comment section.
Likewise, someone stated, “Rude staffer should have known better. Good for President Trump.” In contrast, one person focused on Trump’s behavior by exclaiming, “Most rude president ever!!”
A fourth individual co-signed that comment writing, “He is beyond rude.” Yet, another critic of the commander in chief wrote, “World’s most miserable man!”
Trump caught more heat on People magazine’s Instagram page, too. For instance, someone joked, “He thinks he’s still on ‘The Apprentice.’” One reply to that comment read, “Right!!!! He was mean to his staff on that show.”
“The Apprentice” reality competition show, which premiered in 2004, made Trump a television star, thanks in part to his “you’re fired” catchphrase joining the national lexicon.
Ironically, NBC fired Trump as the show’s host when he made disparaging comments during his announcement that he was running for president on June 16, 2015.
Previously, Trump made headlines for the way he publicly addressed another subordinate. His interaction with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 21 went viral.
Trump and Noem appeared together at the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility. The president’s remarks about Noem at that media event were met with confusion and ridicule from his detractors.
“This is my Kristi, dear,” Trump told the crowd of onlookers which consisted of law enforcement members.
He continued, “Thank you very much. She’s been incredible. And she can ride a horse like nobody. She gets on those horses, she rips those horses around.”
Trump’s unexpected riff about Noem caused some people to accuse him of being patronizing toward the female cabinet member.
Both Noem and Scharf joined the second Trump administration in January 2025 following the MAGA chief’s second, non-consecutive inauguration. Noem moved to D.C. after serving as governor of South Dakota from 2019 to 2025.
Scharf ran an unsuccessful candidacy in the 2024 Republican primary for Missouri attorney general.
