Trump faced criticism after he called a female reporter “obnoxious” for questioning him about the recent US strikes on alleged drug boats — an operation already under scrutiny after the military killed two survivors from an overturned vessel.
US President Donald Trump on Monday again targeted a female reporter, calling one “obnoxious” after she pressed him on the lethal US strikes on alleged drug boats — an incident that has sparked widespread concern.
The controversial boat strike has drawn outrage after it emerged that the military killed two survivors who were clinging to the overturned vessel, prompting allegations of potential war crimes.
🚨BREAKING: Trump has a full MELT DOWN when a reporter presses him on whether he’ll release the FULL video of the survivors clinging to wreckage before they were killed.
Trump explodes: “You are the most obnoxious… actually a terrible reporter.”
Release the tape, you COWARD! pic.twitter.com/SEcdFlyNT7
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) December 8, 2025
Clash over release of strike video
On Monday, Rachel Scott asked Trump about his remark last week that he would have “no problem” releasing the video of the strike. Trump then backtracked, saying, “I didn’t say that. You said that, I didn’t say that. Whatever Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.”
When she pressed further, Trump snapped: “You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place.” Calling her a “terrible reporter,” he added: “Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious, a terrible—actually a terrible—reporter. And it’s always the same thing with you. I told you, whatever Pete wants to do is OK with me.”
Dispute over the ‘double tap’ strike
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said he did not order the second strike on the alleged drug-running vessel on September 2 — the first in a series of more than a dozen US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific on targets the administration describes as “narcoterrorists.”
During the tense White House roundtable, Trump insisted he never said he would release footage of the double-tap strike, despite having made that promise four days earlier.
“Mr. President, you said you’d have ‘no problem’ releasing the full video of that strike on September 2 off the coast of Venezuela. Secretary Hegseth—” Rachel Scott began, before Trump cut her off.
“I didn’t say that. You said that. I didn’t say that,” he replied. “This is ABC ‘Fake’ News,” he added quietly to those beside him.
Scott responded: “You said you’d have ‘no problem’ releasing the full video.”
Pattern of attacks on female journalists
Trump’s repeated comments targeting female reporters have raised concerns. Last month, he told Bloomberg News correspondent Catherine Lucey, “Quiet, piggy,” after she asked why he would not release the Jeffrey Epstein files if there was “nothing incriminating” in them.
At the same round table, where Trump appeared visibly tired, Scott questioned him about the September 2 “double tap” strike, in which the US hit the vessel a second time, killing two survivors of the initial attack.
Fresh confrontations with ABC and CNN reporters
The following day, Trump lashed out at ABC correspondent Mary Bruce when she questioned him about the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump family’s business ties, and the Epstein case as he hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter,” he told her, warning her not to “embarrass our guest.”
Earlier, he criticised CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for asking about the rising costs of his new White House ballroom. In a Truth Social post, he described her as “always Stupid and Nasty,” saying she had “asked me why the new Ballroom was costing more money than originally thought one year ago.”
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