President Donald Trump's run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday was marked by a series of inflammatory and derogatory comments targeting journalists and politicians — particularly women.
And his uncontrolled lashing out is demonstrating an alarming "rage-filled downward spiral," a Guardian columnist wrote.
On Thanksgiving, Trump launched into a social media tirade, making an ableist slur against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and an Islamophobic comment about Representative Ilhan Omar, describing her as "always wrapped in her swaddling hijab." When confronted by a female journalist about a national guard attack, Trump aggressively demanded, "Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?"
His attacks on female journalists were particularly vicious, wrote Arwa Mahdawi.
About New York Times reporter Katie Rogers, he wrote: "The writer of the story, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out."
To Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg, he jabbed his finger and said "Quiet, piggy" when she asked about the Epstein files.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung followed Trump's lead, telling New Yorker writer Jane Meyer to "respectfully, shut the f--k up for trying to politicize this tragedy" after she commented on the fatal national guard shooting last week.
Mary Trump, the president's niece, suggested these attacks indicate that her uncle is "increasingly comfortable lodging such attacks" and might be feeling "a little rattled." Cheung's response was to call her a "stone-cold loser."
"You don’t have to be a particularly perceptive person to know that Trump loathes most journalists – particularly women," wrote Mahdawi. "The misogynist-in-chief has a well-documented history of lashing out at women who dare challenge him.
"Still, even by his own low standards, the past few weeks have been remarkable. The president seems to be on a rage-filled downward spiral, and is taking much of his aggression out on female members of the media."
The pattern of attacks suggests a deliberate strategy of intimidation, with Mary Trump noting that these "misogynistic attacks against reporters are increasing."
Trump seems unafraid of consequences, with polls showing he maintained significant support among women voters despite his inflammatory language.
But Mahdawi warned the president's attacks — and America's apparent contentment to look the other way — are following an ominous path.
"I don’t know if 'rattled' is quite the word for what is happening in Trump’s brain," she wrote. "Rather, it would seem that Trump, who has frequently referred to himself as a 'king,' would like to turn himself into another Mohammed bin Salman and the US into another Saudi Arabia. In the prince’s Saudi Arabia, journalists live under heavy surveillance, media outlets stick to the government narrative and a handful of critical tweets can get you locked up.
"The US might not be quite at that point yet, but it’s on the way."