President Donald Trump is known for going after reporters when he doesn’t like a question, especially female journalists who dare to push back.
Once again, Trump lashed out at a Black female reporter and even lunged at her after she asked about his dodgy promise to give every adult American $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.
Trump made the astonishing pledge at the first-of-its-kind GOP convention in Dallas this week.
(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
As he was leaving Dallas, ABC News senior political correspondent Rachel Scott rubbed him the wrong way by daring to ask him how he planned to pay for a proposal that critics call essentially a $1.3 trillion midterm-election bribe.
“Mr. President, on the checks, the U.S. is still $40 trillion in debt. If your economic policies are working, why do you need an incentive for people to turn out and vote?” Scott directly asked him.
Trump firmly denied that the proposed payouts were meant to rally his base or boost Republican turnout in November. Instead, he pivoted to a familiar line of defense, placing the blame on former President Joe Biden for economic pressures that voters continue to feel —even as Trump enters his 20th month in office.
“I didn’t do it for turning out to vote. I did it as a reward for people having to put up with five years, four years of a horrible, horrible situation caused by Biden,” Trump incredulously insisted.
“I mean they had to put up with the four years and that carried on for at least an additional half a year,” he claimed, which means he would be responsible for the U.S. in his calculations beginning last summer. But he wasn’t done trying to pin the blame for what critics call his bad decisions on Biden.
“Just a horrible thing that Biden did to our country. And it’s not only from an economic standpoint. You look at the border. You look at the crime, and now we’ve got it under control, but for what a period of time. It’s almost a reward for the people having to put up with Biden’s policies,” a frustrated Trump added, hoping to shut Scott down, but it didn’t work.
To be clear, Biden handed off an economy where inflation had cooled significantly from its peak, leveling out at 3% by January 2025. Crime was also declining nationally before Trump returned to office. FBI data shows significant decreases in violent crime in 2024.
As Scott tried to ask a follow-up question, Trump turned to another reporter. As she persisted, he started wagging a finger in her face and shot back, “Not you.”
“You also offered checks,” Scott continued, “refund checks.”
An enraged Trump looked at her and repeated, “Not you.” Then he lunged at her and snarled again, “Not you.”
“Your network and you, you’re the worst,” an outraged Trump hissed at her.
Social media erupted in disbelief and concern over Trump’s hostile demeanor toward women in the press corps.
“Many Trump clips are funny. Not this one. Tonight, he physically lunged at a female reporter who was asking a question. Look at his expression and the tone of his voice. This man is a predator and behavior like this only reinforces the fact that he is, and always has been, an abuser of women in so many ways,” a Threads user stated.
Another commenter agreed, “He’s a dangerous bully. A predator. A monster.”
Others piled on. “What a hateful look he gave her. Full of rage. He would have loved to beat her up. And this man has control over the red button. All these interviews will go down in history. How much he hates women.”
This Threads user wrote just two words to describe Trump and his behavior: “F****ng psychopath.”
The incidents between Trump and female journalists date back to his first run for office in 2015. He calls them names, dodges questions, gaslights them, yells and basically throws tantrums when they press him on his statements and policy decisions.
In mid-August, he exploded on CNN’s Kristen Holmes. She questioned his decision to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea following his praise of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump told Holmes to be quiet and called her a “fake reporter.” The White House later targeted Holmes in a social media post that invoked her children. It said they would eventually grow up to be “sickened and embarrassed” by her conduct.
Later that month, Trump lashed out at PBS NewsHour correspondent Liz Landers. She pressed him on whether he planned to sanction Chinese banks as part of his administration’s efforts to pressure Iran into negotiations and end the ongoing conflict.
He also berated NewsNation White House correspondent Libbey Dean for a “stupid” question. She asked whether he would rule out using a nuclear weapon against Iran.
And back in February, Trump commented on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins’ demeanor, telling her that he had never seen her smile.
Last year, the president ordered Bloomberg News White House correspondent Catherine Lucey to be quiet, telling her, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” after she questioned him about the Epstein files.
Leading up to the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks, Trump unleashed a furious and deeply personal attack against New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman after she reported on his plans for the commemoration. In a Truth Social post, Trump called the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist a “stalker.” He mocked her appearance and accused her of fabricating a report that he planned to skip the Ground Zero ceremony because he would not be allowed to speak.
