President Donald Trump has launched a fresh verbal assault on a female journalist, bluntly telling her she possessed a "very bad attitude" after she pressed him on reported fractures within his MAGA movement concerning his immigration agenda. The confrontation occurred on Friday when The Washington Post reporter Natalie Allison queried the president about internal disagreements over his immigration policies.
Heated Exchange Over Immigration and Media
During the brief but intense interaction, Trump deflected the substantive question by targeting both the reporter and her publication. "Where are you from?" the president demanded. "Washington Post? Are you having a hard time getting readers? The Washington Post is doing very poorly... You have a very bad attitude. Go ahead." This exchange represents the second instance within a single week where Trump has opted to attack a female journalist rather than address the questions posed to him directly.
Pattern of Deflection and Personal Attacks
Earlier in the week, at an Oval Office briefing on Tuesday, President Trump similarly targeted CNN's Kaitlan Collins when she asked about the recently released documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Those files contain references to various associates, including figures like Elon Musk and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Trump responded by stating, "I think it's really time for the country to get onto something else, really."
When Collins persisted, inquiring about justice for the women victimised by Epstein's operation, Trump became visibly angry. He launched into a rant criticising CNN and labelled Collins "the worst reporter." He then made a personal remark, complaining that he had never seen her smile. "You know she's a young woman," Trump said to others in the room before addressing Collins directly. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile." He elaborated, claiming, "I've known you for 10 years, I don't think I've ever seen a smile on your face," and suggested her lack of smiling was because "you know you're not telling the truth."
History of Confrontations and White House Defence
This is not the first time Trump has publicly criticised Kaitlan Collins. In December, he described her as "always Stupid and Nasty" in a post on his Truth Social platform. Despite a noticeable increase in the president's use of what many perceive as childish and degrading language directed at female reporters over the past year, the White House has consistently defended his conduct.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Independent in December that these insults are "nothing to do with gender." She argued, "President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency. This has nothing to do with gender – it has everything to do with the fact that the president’s and the public’s trust in the media is at all time lows."
The recurring pattern of deflecting policy questions with personal attacks on journalists, particularly women, continues to draw significant scrutiny and debate about press relations and presidential conduct.
