Donald Trump bullied a female reporter during a press conference, and his comments will make your blood boil
Another day, another chance for President Donald Trump to stick his misogynistic foot in his mouth. His target this time? A female reporter in the White House press corps. Here’s what happened.
Trump was delivering a speech Monday, October 1st, in the White House Rose Garden about a proposed trade deal between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico when he called on ABC reporter Cecilia Vega to ask a question. As the microphone was being passed to Vega, Trump said, “She’s shocked that I picked her. She’s in a state of shock.”
Vega responded with, “I’m not, thank you, Mr. President,” to which Trump retorted, “That’s okay, I know you’re not thinking. You never do.” The senior White House correspondent asked, “I’m sorry?” before Trump told her to “go ahead” and ask her question.
The baffling exchange quickly gained attention on social media as the latest example of Trump’s poor treatment of journalists, especially female reporters.
Trump, to female reporter: "I know you're not thinking. You never do."
The misogyny is never ending with this guy. He has a visceral distrust of and hatred towards women who dare to question him. pic.twitter.com/gV7ejrmLDi
— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) October 1, 2018
Donald Trump’s comments on Monday came less than a week after CNN reporter Jim Acosta asked the president at a press conference if he would call on a female reporter next.
Trump gets momentarily flustered when @Acosta asks that he call on a woman reporter for his next question. pic.twitter.com/tV8ZDFmcoe
— Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) September 26, 2018
That exchange occurred at Trump’s off-the-rails solo press conference on Wednesday, September 26th, during which Acosta encouraged Trump to call on a female reporter to ask a question about the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Trump had, at that point, called on four male reporters. And while he took Acosta’s advice and called on NBC’s Hallie Jackson next, “Trump then proceeded to mock her for asking too many questions,” Mashable reported.
Trump’s poor treatment of female journalists is well documented.
false
Back in June, for example, he called a female reporter “obnoxious” and told her to be “quiet” when she tried to ask him a question outside the White House. The reporter in question was later identified as CBS News’ Weijia Jiang. And let’s not forget his notorious insults of Megyn Kelly both during and after a presidential debate in 2015.
.@realDonaldTrump said this about me when I was pressing him about why he declared the nuclear threat from North Korea was already “over”… a question he has YET to answer. https://t.co/p0Pa7HIQHS
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) June 15, 2018
A free and open press plays an essential role in our democracy, yet Trump refuses to treat journalists with the respect they deserve. His comments Monday are only the latest example of how he truly regards the media.
If you’re fed up with Trump’s treatment of women—reporters or not—the most important thing you can do is vote. That goes for next month’s midterms, the presidential election in 2020, and in every election in between. Here’s how to register to vote if you haven’t already.
