President Donald Trump let the media back onto White House grounds, but not because he suddenly had a change of heart.
The move came after a federal judge ordered his administration to restore access to outlets it had pushed out, forcing Trump back into close quarters with the same press corps he has spent years attacking, mocking, and trying to sideline.
Trump seems to both resent and rely on this relationship. He regularly blasts reporters as dishonest and unfair, yet rarely passes up the chance to stop in front of their cameras, spar with their questions and turn the exchange into a spectacle.
His grand AI lunch with tech CEOs, founders, and government officials proceeded mostly as planned until the politician addressed the press pool outside the residence.
The first wave of ridicule hit social media when viewers zoomed in on Trump’s awkward stance.
Executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and others, surrounded the president near the South Lawn.
At the time, Trump was bragging about ditching the name A.I. in favor of S.I., or “superintelligence.”
But all anyone could focus on were his legs. The president’s torso leaned forward as he twisted to the left and right, but his legs hardly moved, making them appear unnaturally stuck in place.
The Q & A further derailed when Trump shared the spotlight.
As journalists asked whether the summit addressed A.I. safety concerns, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stepped forward.
“Everything he says is okay,” said Trump. He then leaned toward Amodei and jokingly warned him, “Be careful.” His wealthy guests chuckled.
The entrepreneur reiterated that artificial intelligence “has benefits” and that “whoever wins A.I., wins… But I think the technology has very real risks.”
The crowd followed up with questions as Amodei said A.I. safety would require cooperation between Trump and other tech leaders.
One woman’s voice broke through the cacophony of shouts, catching the president’s attention.
“Hold it, hold it, hold it,” he said, then pointed a finger into the crowd of reporters. “CNN. Fake news. She’s fake news,” said Trump, again pointing at the media professional, calling them “the worst.”
“Dario has been fantastic; we had dinner the other night, and he agrees with everyone,” he continued.
Amodei steadied his hands, his smile fading as he stepped back into the lineup of CEOs.
“Did Dario just run and hide? Lol,” a X user tweeted.
A second user commented, “Dario trying to distance himself.”
He then raised his palm toward the reporters, seemingly yielding to Trump, looked down and allowed Trump to continue criticizing the journalists’ questions about A.I. safety.
“The worst. Look, Dario has been fantastic. We had dinner the other night, and he agrees with everyone,” Trump said.
CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, was temporarily banned from the White House after Trump accused the outlets of dishonest and disparaging coverage.
A federal judge overruled the administration’s actions and ordered the White House to reinstate the outlets’ press badges.
An outpouring of reactions to the clip labeled Trump and his guests cowards.
On X, one user wrote, “This is sickening, all of these grown men laughing at this nastiness and unprofessionalism.
Someone else noted, “Grown men laughing at a man bullying a professional woman. Makes me sick.”
Trump has a track-record of insulting female journalists, including telling a Bloomberg reporter “quiet, piggy” and frequently criticizing female correspondents’ tone and demeanor during news conferences.
The pile-on intensified when users called out Zuckerberg, who was called “pathetic” for not speaking up.
“Mark Zuckerberg —my god. You’re married to a smart woman and yet you watch a smart woman being insulted and you laugh. You’re trash,” read one remark.
The META CEO appeared shocked when Trump inserted him into the public remarks.
His smirk quickly shifted to a straight face as the president praised his “right down the middle” opinion on A.I. safety.
Trump can rename memorials, technology and media outlets, but he can’t outwit the critics documenting his trail of public humiliation.
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