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A new chapter has been added to the Trump v. the press saga.
With midterm voting fast approaching, Donald Trump seems readier than ever to spar with the White House press corps.
On Tuesday, a routine press gathering in the Oval Office quickly devolved into a shouting match as the president repeatedly snapped at correspondents.
The sharpest confrontation erupted after Andrew Feinberg, White House correspondent for The Independent, tried to ask a question. Trump pointed an index finger straight at him and said: “Hey! I don’t know who the hell you are, but you better be careful,” he scolded.
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Moments later, the mood grew even more hostile when he singled out the very same journalist: “Quiet, QUIET! What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person? I actually think there’s something wrong with you.”
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Latest Trump v. press episode
Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at established media organizations, calling several news outlets “fake news media.”
In September Donald Trump announced that he banned CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House — a decision which has since been slammed by a federal judge ordering the White House to restore access.
In an act of support, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC all suspended the White House TV Press Pool (which CNN is also a part of), effectively halting pooled TV coverage of Donald Trump.
Friendly fire
Conservative outlets are no longer spared either. On Monday, Trump lashed out at Fox News in a scathing post on Truth Social.
He accused his longtime media ally of giving too much platform to Democrats, claiming the network “spends more time defending Dumocrats, and putting on their views versus their Republican opponent, than at any time in the History of FoxNews.”
Later that afternoon, the tension spilled outdoors as reporters questioned him on the White House lawn. When asked about French President Emmanuel Macron blaming him for rioting in France, Trump cut the reporter off. “That’s fake news,” Trump said, before abruptly demanding, “Who are you with?”
The hostility vanished as soon as the correspondent named her conservative outlet. “Mary Margaret with The Daily Wire,” the reporter replied. Trump reversed course on the spot: “Oh, The Daily Wire is good,” Trump said. “Sorry, The Daily Wire is good.”
