(AFP) – Donald Trump ripped into a reporter from the US network ABC News on Tuesday, just days after calling another woman journalist “piggy” after she asked a question related to the convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump threatened ABC’s broadcast license after reporter Mary Bruce posed questions during a White House visit by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The earlier incident involving Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey happened a few days ago on Air Force One, but only came to light on social media on Tuesday. “Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” Trump said to Lucey on Friday, pointing his finger at her, after she asked him why he would not release material on disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “if there’s nothing incriminating in the files.” CNN journalist Jake Tapper called Trump’s “piggy” comment “disgusting and completely unacceptable.”
On Tuesday, Trump singled out ABC News’s Bruce after she asked a series of questions in the Oval Office as the US president hosted the de facto Saudi ruler in a high-profile event. Bruce first asked questions about whether dealings by Trump’s family business with the Saudis were a conflict of interest. She then quizzed Prince Mohammed over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying, “US intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you?”
Trump cut in angrily, saying: “ABC fake news. One of the worst in the business.” The president then said he has “nothing to do” with the Trump organization, which is currently run by his two eldest sons and which announced a deal with a Saudi developer for a resort in the Maldives on Monday. Trump also backed Prince Mohammed’s denial of involvement in the Khashoggi murder, despite US intelligence suggesting he approved the operation. “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Trump snapped.
Trump boiled over again when Bruce later asked about the flashpoint issue of Epstein. Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to order the release of files about the financier, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter,” Trump shot back at Bruce. Trump said he had “nothing to do” with Epstein and repeated his claim that the scandal is a “hoax.”
And “your crappy company is one of the perpetrators,” he told her. Trump urged the head of the US broadcast regulator — who has previously threatened ABC over its content — to “look at” taking away its license. He then pointed at Bruce: “No more questions from you.”
© 2024 AFP
