President Donald Trump called ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott “the most obnoxious reporter” for asking a question about his previous assertion that he had “no problem” releasing footage of the Sept. 2 strike off the coast of Venezuela — which killed the two survivors of an alleged drug trafficking boat — and the prominent reporter has parried with video evidence of POTUS’ course reversal.
In the clip shared by Scott on her Instagram, the GOP leader denied saying he would be in favor of releasing footage of the second strike, which has launched significant bipartisan scrutiny and contentions that it constitutes a war crime. “I didn’t say that; you said that,” Trump shot back, calling ABC “fake news.”
He added that he would be “OK” with whatever Secretary of War/Defense Pete Hegseth decided on the matter, before spouting off a series of statistics about the administration’s supposed success in curbing drug smuggling.
When Scott tried to clarify if that indicated a commitment to releasing video evidence of the strike, Trump fired back: “Didn’t I just tell you that?”
“You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place,” he continued. “Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious—actually, a terrible reporter. And it’s always the same thing with you. I told you, whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do, is OK with me.”
This is the latest in a long line of hostile encounters between Trump and a female journalist. Just days ago, the convicted felon called CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty” when she asked similar questions about the administration’s air strikes in the Caribbean.
Dissecting the exchange afterward, MS Now’s Nicole Wallace questioned if the president forgot or misspoke when addressing Scott’s inquiry.
“The second thing I wanted to hit pause on … is never normalize the verbal violence, the verbal assault on another female journalist,” she said, before enumerating the laundry list of attacks Trump has lobbed at female reporters in recent weeks, including: calling CBS News’ Nancy Cordes a “stupid person,” deeming the New York Times‘ Katie Rogers “third rate” and “ugly,” berating ABC News’ Mary Bruce as “horrible” and “insubordinate” and, of course, telling Bloomberg News’ Catherine Lucey “quiet piggy,” the last of which was defended by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as “very frank and honest” commentary, rather than playground-level taunting.
“This is sick shit. This is sick,” Wallace lamented. “We’re either gonna normalize this, and then you’re gonna hear all sorts of prominent people calling women all sorts of name — I’m sure by the time I get off TV, I’ll have a few of those myself — but we’re either gonna normalize this, and usher in an era of unprecedented misogyny or that press corps is gonna act as one and say, ‘No more.’”