Last Friday an intense confrontation played out on Air Force One. Watch out Former President Donald Trump attacked Bloomberg’s White House correspondent Catherine Lucey for asking him about his hushing up of his own behavior and the developing Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Even still, the encounter is revealing about Trump’s often adversarial relationship with the press. His most recent feud has been with female journalists, as he has well documented his contempt for media inquiries.
Throughout the melee, Lucey was curious what Trump was doing. He didn’t want to find something embarrassing in the files Jeffrey Epstein released as part of his settlement in the case. Trump responded sharply, pointing at Lucey and demanding, “Quiet,” before labeling her question as “horrible, insubordinate, and just a terrible question.” This duel is part of a growing trend of aggressive hostility that Trump has in recent days turned on journalists, and women in specific.
Lucey didn’t just take issue with what Trump was doing. She confronted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the gruesome murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Her endless attempts to force the truth out of public officials faced a brutal attack when Trump mockingly started calling her “piggy.”
Advocates expected the backlash against Trump’s comments to be strong and far-reaching. Fellow journalists have rightfully decried the act. They view this incident as part of a disturbing trend of aggression against women in the press. Caroline Hendrie, a prominent voice in journalism ethics, stated, “Targeting women reporters with humiliating insults should not be tolerated.” She added that these incidents are “not isolated; they are part of an unmistakable pattern of hostility – often directed at women – that undermines the essential role of a free and independent press.”
Trump’s recent behavior is not an anomaly. Earlier in the week, he labeled Mary Bruce from ABC News as “a terrible person” during an Oval Office encounter, which drew significant criticism. As others have observed, Trump’s ongoing crusade against reporters poses long-term threats to press freedom.
In one such exchange, Bruce had previously pressed Trump on why he was waiting for Congress to release the Epstein files. His response to journalism has apparently gotten more and more bitter, as he tries to bury questions that might expose him to losing face.