Donald Trump told Kristen Holmes to be quiet in the Oval Office on Monday after she tried to ask about his communications with Kim Jong Un. He singled out the senior White House correspondent as the exchange unfolded in front of Nathaniel Rai, the 10-year-old he gestured toward during the appearance.
Trump told Holmes, “Quiet, quiet. You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man.” After she said she was with, he answered, “Fake news. You’re fake news. You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news. Be quiet…You’re a fake reporter, and you report fake news.”
Oval Office exchange
The confrontation came during a Monday Oval Office availability in which Trump also said the North Korean leader had responded to his request to have a conversation. He said, “I understand him. He understands,” and added, “I get along with him very well.”
Earlier in the same Oval Office appearance, Holmes had asked Trump about a comment from Jon Ossoff that he would rather travel with Natalie Harp and build the White House ballroom than do his job as President of the United States. Trump called Ossoff a “Pee Wee Herman lookalike” before defending the ballroom.
Nathaniel Rai in the room
Trump’s reference to Nathaniel Rai gave the exchange its sharpest public edge. Rai had been rescued from rough surf in Santa Cruz by Ryder Williams, and Trump used him as the reason for telling Holmes to stop asking questions.
That made the exchange more than a routine interruption. Trump framed Holmes’s question as disrespectful in front of a child, while Holmes was asking what described as a tough, relevant and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people.
and the White House
The White House rapid response account escalated the dispute after the exchange, calling Holmes “a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession.” It also wrote to her, “Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive.”
answered that Holmes is “one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House.” The network said she was doing her job and added that personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press.
Trump’s remarks on Monday followed a Sunday Truth Social post in which he said he was ordering the military to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea. He also criticized South Korea for not helping with the war with Iran and said reported issues with the USS Lincoln were a “ fake report.”
What remains at issue is the line Trump drew between a news question and a personal rebuke in the middle of an official Oval Office appearance. Holmes asked about his dealings with Kim Jong Un; Trump answered by ordering silence, and then the White House and turned the exchange into a broader fight over how reporters are treated in public.
