President Donald Trump’s vicious temperament was on full display when he brutally scolded a CNN correspondent calling her “the worst reporter” during a White House event on domestic terrorism even as he tried to stay awake during the discussion.
Trump, with his Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem by his side, was taking questions after his “Antifa Roundtable” event in the State Dining Room Wednesday when CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes tried to ask a question about a potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Her entire question is hard to understand amid the shouting reporters trying to get the President’s attention, but she’s heard asking, “Are you personally participating?”
That’s when a cranky Trump, who could barely stay awake during the meeting, threw a tantrum and immediately interrupted the very reporter he gave the signal to begin speaking, “This is CNN speaking, by the way.”
“So, you know this is one of the worst reporters that you’ll ever see,” Trump said as he spoke over her then abruptly dismisses her and decides to move on to someone else. “I don’t even want to take her question. It’s a waste of time.”
Along with CNN, he also targeted MSNBC, calling their reporters “largely dishonest.”
“Poor CNN, it’s so pathetic,” he added.
“Did you see their anchors in the evening? Nobody ever heard of them. Where does the people come? I could take anybody off the street in Washington, D.C., they’d do a better job,” he railed.
Trump opponents went after him on social media.
“’One of the worst reporters you’ll ever see.’ Says the worst president we’ve ever had,” this Threads user declared.
Another chimed in, “No decent United States president has ever spoken the way he speaks.”
One user spared no insults, “What a rude miserable disgusting man! Uneducated unhinged immoral senile mean old man”
“Trump looks so tired and weak…heard he fell into sleep,” Threads poster Rolf S commented.
One MAGA follower seem to relish in Trump’s calculated maneuver.
“Omigawd…..😂😂😂 Trump is the funniest and most blunt POTUS we’ve ever had. 1. Call on CNN reporter. 2. Make fun of reporter as being the worst. 3. Refuse her question then move to next reporter.”
But not everyone was amused. “I dont get it. Because he is to stupid to answer a question you think he’s funny?” asked one while another added, “There’s a lot of us folks who just want a functional government thinking that our President openly insulting the free press is not a good thing.”
‘1st class a hole,” still another Threads user stated.
Trump often goes after media outlets he doesn’t like, and in recent weeks he’s become even more emboldened, suggesting the Federal Communications Commission should revoke ABC and NBC’s broadcast licenses.
The antifa event at the White House was extraordinary not just because Trump took aim at the press, but because he also targeted antifa, which he just listed as a domestic terrorist organization, even though the anti-fascist movement has no leadership and no organization.
The Trump administration has vowed to bring down antifa, comparing it to drug cartels and major street gangs. Trump has used the military to attack alleged drug cartels and sent federal troops into U.S. cities to supposedly clean up crime but has not provided any details about how he plans to go after antifa.
The problem with antifa though is that it’s an ideology, not a terrorist group. The word itself is short for anti-fascist, and the label is used to describe those on the left, usually the far left, who do not identified with the Democratic platform.
The president’s continued rhetoric against essentially an ideology has critics predicting he’s likely to implement a major crackdown on civil liberties as he’s tried to do with free speech.
