President Donald Trump clashed with a reporter Aug. 17, telling her to "be quiet."
Trump on Monday hosted at the White House 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams and the 10-year-old boy he saved from rough waves in California. After recognizing the boy for his bravery, Trump took questions from the press pool.
Trump was talking about the decision to scale back on joint military exercises with South Korea, announced the day prior, when a reporter asked a follow-up question. Trump told her to "be quiet" and called her "fake news," as the two tried to talk over each other.
Trump has long called the media fake news, but has also had several escalated reactions to questions, often from women reporters. He once told a Bloomberg reporter "quiet piggy,"
and earlier this year he walked off the set of the interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker.
Watch what happened:
Watch: Trump and CNN reporter clash in Oval Office
CNN reporter Kristen Holmes spoke up to ask a follow-up question about South Korea.
"Did he ask you specifically to scale back on those?" she said.
"Quiet, quiet, quiet. You are very disrespectful in front of this young man," Trump said before turning to the 10-year-old boy seated next to him for the event. "Don't you find her disrespectful? He understands. Quiet. Who are you with?"
When Holmes told Trump she was with CNN, he called it "fake news."
"You're a loud, boisterous person. You are fake news," Trump said, as Holmes tried to repeat her question. "Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. You're a fake reporter and you report fake news."
"I was trying to find out if you had been talking to Kim Jong Un, if he had asked you to scale back on those military exercises," Holmes said simultaneously.
Trump's communication team also shared a different clip from the gaggle on X, tagging Holmes.
"Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question," the caption, tagging Holmes, read. "They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It’s quite troubling."
CNN issued a statement on Aug. 17 in defense of Holmes, calling her "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," the statement read. "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."
Other times Trump has lashed out at reporters
Trump calls NBC News host 'Crooked or stupid'
Trump walked out of an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" in June. Both Welker and the president acknowledged the loud rain on the metal roof of the barn they were filming in was disruptive.
Before leaving the set of the Wisconsin interview, Trump accused NBC News of being "crooked."
Welker responded, "To be fair, I'm not crooked."
"Really? Because you play right into their hands. You're either crooked or you're stupid," Trump said, going on to repeat unsubstantiated claims of election rigging and accusing other networks of being crooked. "Let's call it quits because I've had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time."
Trump says CNN’s Kaitlan Collins has 'hatred in her eyes'
On June 3, CNN's chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins was asking Trump about the “anti-weaponization fund" when Trump commented on Collins' looks in an attack.
"CNN's a very corrupt organization, with a corrupt reporter standing right there," Trump said about Collins. "Never smiles. She's a young, beautiful woman (who) never smiles. I've never seen a smile off her face. I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes."
Trump later told her to be quiet when she tried to interject. Trump previously criticized her for not smiling on Feb. 3 when she asked about the Jeffrey Epstein files. In response to the June incident, CNN previously told USA TODAY:
“Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity," CNN's statement said. "She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”
Trump tells Bloomberg reporter 'Quiet Piggy'
Aboard Air Force One en route to Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 14, a reporter asked Trump a follow-up question about the Epstein files.
Trump scolded her, pointing a finger toward her and leaning in as he said: "Quiet! Quiet, piggy."
The reporter was identified as Catherine Lucey from Bloomberg. Bloomberg said at the time it was focused on reporting fairly and accurately.
Contributing: Saman Shafiq, Jay Stahl, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video shows Trump tell CNN reporter repeatedly to 'be quiet'
