Trump's Trials - Trump lashes out at reporter, highlighting a pattern of attacking press he dislikes

Episode Date: November 20, 2025

During a recent exchange, President Trump insulted a reporter after being asked a question he didn't like, underscoring a long-running habit of belittling journalists who are critical of him.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. I'm Scott Detrow. We're under invasion from within. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. The golden age of America is upon us. We are in the golden age. Every episode of Trump's terms, we bring you NPR's latest coverage of the 47th president.

With a focus on actions and policies he is pursuing on his own terms and in the process, taking the presidency into uncharted territory. Today's story starts right after this. I'm A. Martinez. This week brought fresh reminders of what President Trump does when he wants to deflect unwelcome questions from reporters. He insults and attempts to intimidate. In this analysis, MPR's David Fulkenflik says the intimidation is meant for media bosses, too. When President Trump is confronted by a question he doesn't like, he rarely holds back.

On Friday, asked aboard Air Force One whether there was something in. incriminating about him in the Jeffrey Epstein files, Trump told Bloomberg news as Catherine Lucy, quiet, quiet, piggy. Trump became, if anything, even more contentious toward another reporter Tuesday at the White House. It was at a joint appearance with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Is it appropriate, Mr. President, for your family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while your president, is that a conflict of interest? Mary Bruce of ABC News also turned to the prince. And your royal highness, the U.S. intelligence concluded that you, orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist.

9-11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Trump's response about the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Hagshoggi was a shocker. Things happen, he said. But Trump wasn't happy about the question. Who are you with? I'm with ABC News, sir. You with who? ABC News, sir.

Fake news. ABC fake news. Bruce later asked another. Mr. President, why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now? And then Trump laid into her. It's not the question that I might. It's your attitude.

I think you are a terrible reporter. It's the way you ask these questions. This isn't Trump in his Don Rickles, Friars Roast, insult comic mode. This is Trump trying to silence reporters, just as he's done since he started his first run for office in 2015. Here's what Trump said after Megan Kelly moderated the first Republican debate for Fox News. And she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. And, you know, you can see there was blood coming out of her eyes. blood coming out of her wherever.

Trump mocked a New York Times reporter's congenital condition. He called a black reporter racist, told a Chinese-American reporter she should go ask China about his handling of COVID. In his second term, Trump has gone even harder on the mainstream media, surrounding himself with reporters from sympathetic and even sycophantic outlets. So let's return to that exchange at the White House on Tuesday. Just listen to the way Trump takes issues with Bruce's questions to the two world leaders. You start off with a man who's highly respected asking him a horrible, insubordinate,

and just a terrible question. Mary Bruce is not a subordinate. She doesn't work for the president or the prince. She works for ABC News, yet Trump wants deference from her, and not just her. I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake and it's so wrong. and we have a great commissioner, the chairman, who should look at that. Trump's chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has been pressuring the networks, and they've responded. After he suggested it take action on Jimmy Kimmel, ABC's corporate parent temporarily suspended the late-night host. The FCC has also launched investigations into nearly every major broadcast network.

Trump himself has sued networks, newspapers, and social media giants on questionable grounds and come away with several settlements of $10 million or more. more. Media chiefs are finding other ways to play ball with the president, too. Among those attending Tuesday night's Black Tie state dinner with the crown prince at the White House was CBS's new controlling owner, David Ellison. He needed the FCC's approval to acquire CBS and will need it again in his attempt to buy CNN's parent company. So even as reporters pose tough questions to the president, Trump is asking their bosses a question of his own. With so much at stake, is it worth it. David Fulkenflick, NPR News.

Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.