President Donald Trump launched a nearly three-minute tirade against an ABC News reporter on Tuesday after being asked a question about Jeffrey Epstein.
Sitting alongside Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office, Trump was asked why he didn’t direct his Justice Department to release all the files it holds on Epstein, rather than force lawmakers to pass legislation forcing their release, as they were poised to vote on Tuesday.
Trump immediately sounded off on the reporter, claiming his rage wasn’t due to the content of the question, but the manner in which it was asked.
“It's not the question that I mind, it's your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter, it's the way you ask these questions, you start off with a man who is highly respected and ask him a horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question, and you could even ask that same exact question nicely,” Trump said.
“You're all psyched up, somebody psyched you over at ABC! You're a terrible person and a terrible reporter. As far as the Epstein files, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert, and I guess I turned out to be right!”
Trump then went on to list a number of prominent Democratic figures – former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury secretary Larry Summers, and billionaire Reid Hoffman – who are also known to have had deep ties with Epstein before his passing in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Calling Hoffman a “sleazebag” and saying he should be investigated, Trump went on to threaten the reporter’s network.
“I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake, and it's so wrong, and we have a great commissioner – chairman who should look at that,” Trump said. “I've answered your question… No more questions from you!”