President Donald Trump has once again lashed out at a female reporter, this time attempting to also draw a 10-year-old boy into his angry Oval Office tirade.
At the White House on Monday, the president paid tribute to 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams and Nathaniel Rai, the 10-year-old he rescued from a rip current in Santa Cruz, California.
“We’re honored to have all of you,” Trump told the pair, whose dramatic July 25 rescue went viral and eventually came to the attention of the president.
“When I first saw it, I said: ‘Roll that back. I want to see that again. Is that really happening?’”
But the otherwise pleasant event took an ugly—and familiar—turn when Trump opened the floor to questions from the media.
After being asked about his relationship with White House aide Natalie Harp, embarking on a lengthy rant about the White House ballroom, and attacking Democrats for “weaponizing the country,” CNN reporter Kristen Holmes tried to ask about Trump’s decision to scale back joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises.
Holmes could be heard shouting questions alongside other reporters in the press pool, who were also trying to quiz Trump about the day’s issues.
“QUIET!” the president eventually demanded after she had made several attempts to ask her question.
“You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man, OK?” Trump said, turning to Rai, who was sitting on a couch next to his father.
“Don’t you find her disrespectful?” Trump asked the boy. “He understands. Quiet! Who are you with?”
Holmes replied that she was from CNN and simply wanted to follow up a question about Korea that another reporter had previously asked.
“Fake news. You’re fake news! You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news,” Trump continued, as Holmes tried to explain herself again.
“BE QUIET! BE QUIET! You’re a fake reporter and you report fake news!”
Trump then called on another reporter, who moved on to a different question.
The ugly exchange was reminiscent of the president’s earlier “quiet, piggy” attack against Bloomberg News correspondent Catherine Lucey after she asked about the Epstein files.
But this is part of a broader pattern for the president.
Over the past few months, Trump has also admonished CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins for not smiling enough; blasted Washington Post reporter Natalie Allison for asking about fractures in his base over his deportation strategy; and told 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O’Donnell she was a “disgrace” for bringing up his ties to Jeffrey Epstein during an interview.
He has also lashed out at ABC reporter Mary Bruce after she asked him to explain to the public how he planned to get out of the quagmire with Iran, and exploded at Fox News host Shannon Bream over her on-air guests, charts, and polls that didn’t reflect his success.
“In any event, Shannon’s ‘show’ is beyond redemption. Fortunately, MAGA, which is close to 100% of the Republican Party, understands that, and watch her ‘Ratings’ start to fall,” Trump wrote on Truth Social this weekend.
But Monday’s Oval Office tirade appeared to be the first time that the president attempted to draw a young boy into his admonishment of the press.
While critics hit out at the latest attack, some in MAGA world found it amusing.
“LMAO! President Trump just CHASTISED a CNN reporter for ‘SCREAMING’ in the Oval Office, and even got the ten-year-old next to him to agree,” right-wing influencer Nick Sortor wrote on X, adding a laughing emoji.
A CNN spokesperson told the Daily Beast in a statement: “Kristen Holmes is one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House. This afternoon, she did her job and asked the President of the United States a tough, relevant, and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people.
“Public officials are free to challenge reporting they disagree with, but personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press. We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms.”
