President Donald Trump has launched another deeply personal attack against a female journalist, describing New York Times reporter Katie Rogers as "ugly inside and out" in a blistering Truth Social post.
Escalating conflict with the press
The outburst came on Wednesday after the Times published an article questioning whether the 80-year-old president was showing signs of slowing down. Trump specifically targeted Rogers, one of the article's authors, writing: "The writer of the story, Katie Rogers, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out."
This marks the second time in less than two weeks that Trump has used derogatory personal language against female members of the media. The president insisted in his post that he has "never worked so hard in my life," directly challenging the newspaper's suggestion that he was running low on energy.
Health concerns and Oval Office incidents
The Times article that prompted Trump's fury detailed several instances where the president appeared to struggle with fatigue. According to their reporting, Trump was observed appearing drowsy during a 6 November Oval Office event, where his "eyelids drooped until his eyes were almost closed, and he appeared to doze on and off for several seconds."
Questions about the president's health have circulated for months, intensifying after Trump revealed he had undergone an MRI scan last month. While he described this as part of a standard physical examination, he declined to specify which body part was examined.
Pattern of behaviour towards female journalists
This incident follows a pattern of Trump reserving his harshest criticisms for women in the media. Less than two weeks ago, he referred to Bloomberg News correspondent Catherine Lucey as "piggy" during an exchange aboard Air Force One.
The confrontation occurred when Lucey asked why Trump was behaving particular regarding the Epstein files "if there's nothing incriminating in the files". Trump responded by pointing at her and saying: "Quiet. Quiet, piggy."
Last week, Trump told ABC News White House correspondent Mary Bruce that she was "a terrible person and a terrible reporter" after she questioned him about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the Epstein scandal.
The New York Times stood firmly behind its journalist following Trump's comments. Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the newspaper, stated: "The Times's reporting is accurate and built on first hand reporting of the facts. Name-calling and personal insults don't change that, nor will our journalists hesitate to cover this administration in the face of intimidation tactics like this."
Stadtlander added that "expert and thorough reporters like Katie Rogers exemplify how an independent and free press helps the American people better understand their government and its leaders."
Trump's history of making personal attacks on female journalists includes calling them "nasty" and previously referencing menstruation to dismiss questions from Megyn Kelly during his presidential campaign.
