‘Quiet!’ Trump Rages at CNN Reporter During Wild Exchange In the Oval Office

 

President Donald Trump raged at CNN White House correspondent Kristen Holmes during an Oval Office question-and-answer session as she tried to press him for details on his discussion with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Trump said earlier in the event that he had recently spoken to the North Korean leader through backchannels, but did not offer any specifics.

“How do you respond to those folks who say that you are prioritizing the interests of adversaries in North Korea over our long-time partners by scaling down the military exercises?” asked a different reporter, referring to Trump scaling back U.S. military drills with South Korea.

“No, I’m making it much safer. You see, I am actually making it more safe. Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect. We met on numerous occasions — actually, two primary occasions — spoken and spent time; I understand him, he understands me. You’re doing war games — I get along with him. You know, he didn’t like Biden, he didn’t like Obama, he didn’t like anybody. But I get along with him very well. No, what I’m doing is making things safer,” Trump replied.

“Did he ask you to scale back on those?” Holmes then asked.

“Quiet. You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man, okay? Don’t you find her disrespectful?” Trump said to teenage lifeguard Ryder Williams, whom the event honored.

“He understands. Quiet. Who are you with?” Trump fumed as Holmes tried to ask her question.

“I’m with CNN,” Holmes replied.

“Fake news,” Trump insisted.

“I just wanted to follow up on this — for your question,” Holmes persisted.

“You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re faking news!” Trump raged.

“I was trying to find out if you had been talking to Kim Jong-un,” Holmes added as Trump said, “Be quiet!”

“Mr. President, is there enough food on the USS Lincoln?” another reporter then yelled.

“Yeah, that was a CNN fake report. The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time — a good period of time — but over the years, we’ve had them out there much longer. I was at a group meeting, and an admiral came up to see me over the weekend,” Trump said, adding:

It was a big group, but he happened to be an admiral, retired. He said, “I’ve been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir,” and he knows people on the ship, and they say it’s beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of. Other people went out and found it to be true. It was fake news reporting from CNN.

The Trump White House quickly put out a tweet attacking Holmes:

.@KristenhCNN is a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession.

@POTUS hosts a hero lifeguard in the Oval Office and she uses it as an opportunity to take a cheap shot about one of President Trump’s staffers.

“These scumbags are the lowest of the low,” added the tweet.

A CNN Spokesperson reacted to Trump’s attack in a statement to Mediaite, “Kristen Holmes is one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House. This afternoon, she did her job and asked the President of the United States a tough, relevant, and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people. Public officials are free to challenge reporting they disagree with, but personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press. We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms.”

Watch above via Fox News.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing