President Donald Trump told a female reporter to be “quiet” in his latest tense exchange with the press, then separately dismissed the idea that women govern better than men as “ridiculous.”
The 80-year-old president made the remarks Saturday while speaking with reporters outside the White House before departing for a college football game in Tennessee.
A female journalist asked Trump whether he wanted only outlets that “support” him included in the White House press pool after he banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House last week. A federal judge blocked that decision Thursday but Trump barred CNN from Air Force One Saturday and replaced the outlet with LindellTV.
“No, no,” Trump responded. “I want real news, not fake news like you. Listen, I want real news. I love an open free press. What I don’t like is the fake press.”
Trump went on to claim that CNN and MS NOW had low ratings. When the same reporter, MS NOW's Akayla Gardner, followed up by asking: “Do you not want tough questions?” Trump cut her off.
“Wait wait, quiet,” Trump said, raising his index finger. “What I don't like is fake news. And they’re fake news.”
Trump has long had a combative relationship with the press, accusing reporters of biased and unfair coverage. He has also directed personal insults at journalists and suggesting that some should face punishment.
His attacks have often been aimed at female reporters. In June, he lashed out at CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins, saying she had “hatred in her eyes” and that “I never see a smile.” He had earlier called Collins “stupid and nasty” after she questioned him about the White House ballroom.
Last November, Trump told a female Bloomberg journalist, “Quiet, piggy,” when she tried to ask about Jeffrey Epstein. The White House responded to that remark by saying Trump is “very frank and honest with everyone.”
Trump was also asked Saturday morning about comments former President Barack Obama made this week about women in government.
“If you put women in charge of every government for like two years and then just kind of saw alright how are things going, I have a strong belief that things would — they wouldn’t be perfect — but they’d be better,” Obama had said Monday.
“It's ridiculous,” Trump opined. “I love women. I think they're great. But what a ridiculous statement that is.”
Trump also addressed a number of other issues. He said the United States would not put “brakes” on artificial intelligence development, which he again described as “super intelligence.”
He separately urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “make a deal” to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and claimed that the U.S. has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz.
