President Donald Trump lashed out at ABC News late Sunday night after former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile criticized his decision to revoke Secret Service protection from former Vice President Kamala Harris, calling the move “petty” and “vindictive.”
The outburst came just hours after Brazile, a paid contributor to ABC and the first Black woman to lead the DNC, appeared on ABC’s “This Week” to condemn Trump’s order cutting short Harris’ extended security detail.
“Before President Trump left office in 2021, he extended it for his five children and Joe Biden never rescinded it. Compare it to Donald Trump who rescinded [details for] the Biden children this past March,” Brazile said on the panel. “Look, this is petty, it’s small, it’s vindictive, it’s retribution, but thankfully, Gov. Newsom will step up, Mayor Bass of Los Angeles will step up and the vice president will continue to receive protection.”
Trump, in a flurry of posts on Truth Social, unloaded on Brazile, the network, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another ABC contributor.
“Why does Fake News ABC’S This Week With George Slopadopolus have Low IQ ‘commentator’ Donna Brazile on the show? Wasn’t she totally discredited when she gave Crooked Hillary Clinton the questions to a Debate??? Wasn’t she FIRED by Fake News CNN for so doing???” Trump wrote. “Donna is dumb as a rock, and a liar besides.”
He continued: “She, and Sloppy Chris Christie, should be fired from a highly discredited ABC Fake News. They just paid me $16,000,000 for ‘inaccurate’ reporting, now they should pay me more!!!”
The $16 million settlement, reached in December after Trump sued ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos, required the network to fund his presidential library. The lawsuit stemmed from Stephanopoulos wrongly saying Trump had been “found liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case, when a jury actually found him liable for sexual abuse.
Trump’s use of big words stood out the critics who had a field day at the president’s expense.
“How to tell Trump didn’t write a tweet? Big words. In this case it is “discredited”. Now do a X search of … Stephen Miller discredited… and see how often he uses “discredited” about people,” one sleuth wrote on X.
“en-dash…complete sentences…DJT did not write this,” another mused.
Brazile, who also criticized Trump’s tariffs for having “created a level of uncertainty that the American people can’t afford,” became the latest in a long line of Black women in public life to draw the brunt of Trump’s attacks.
During and after his presidency, Trump has repeatedly singled out women of color — from Reps. Maxine Waters and Ilhan Omar to journalists like April Ryan and Abby Phillip — in blistering tirades that critics say are rooted in race and gender.
Trump’s latest clash came in the wake of his order revoking Harris’ Secret Service protection effective Sept. 1. Former presidents receive lifelong coverage, but former vice presidents are guaranteed only six months. Before leaving office, President Biden extended Harris’ protection until July 2026 at the request of her aides. Trump’s memorandum abruptly ended it.
California officials scrambled to fill the void. Sources confirmed Harris will now be protected by the California Highway Patrol, with Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass coordinating the arrangement. Newsom has positioned himself as the de factor Leader of the Opposition against Trump and has remained a thorn in his side on every turn. This move serves another opportunity to one-up the president and maintain authority in his own state.
“The safety of our public officials should never be subject to erratic, vindictive political impulses,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gordon said.
Bass added: “This is another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation. … This puts the former Vice President in danger and I look forward to working with the governor to make sure Vice President Harris is safe in Los Angeles.”
Harris, the first Black woman and first woman to serve as vice president, is preparing for a 15-city international book tour later this month to promote her memoir “107 Days.” Her elevated security needs are expected to grow as she travels abroad, though CHP officials declined to comment on deployment specifics.
Trump allies have defended the decision. Reince Priebus, his former chief of staff, argued on “This Week” that Harris has already received more coverage than her predecessors. “The facts are [that] vice presidents get six months of coverage. That’s it,” Priebus said. “Here, you’ve got Kamala Harris who just signed a $20 million book deal, OK? And she’s running around the country talking about Donald Trump being a threat to democracy. She can use $20 million of her own money to protect herself.”
The Secret Service noted in a recent assessment there was no current elevated threat level against Harris. Still, she has long been a target of threats, particularly during the 2024 campaign when she briefly became the Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump’s revocation of Harris’ detail fits a broader pattern. He has previously stripped security from one-time allies who later criticized him, including former national security adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Several of those figures faced ongoing threats from Iran or domestic extremists. In March, Trump also cut protection for Biden’s children, Hunter and Ashley.
The confrontation with ABC is the latest front in Trump’s war with the press. Just last week, he called ABC and NBC “the most biased” networks in America and suggested the FCC revoke their broadcast licenses.
Kirsten Allen, a senior adviser to Harris, issued a measured statement Monday: “The vice president is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety.”
As Harris prepares to take her book tour on the road, and Trump continues his battles with both political rivals and the media, the fallout from the security revocation underscores the volatile intersection of personal vendetta, public safety, and political theater that has defined his presidency.
