Donald Trump’s sharp two-word reaction to a CNN reporter during an Oval Office briefing is drawing widespread attention. The president clashed with a female White House correspondent after she pressed him on his relationship with a foreign dictator.
Donald Trump slams Kristen Holmes during Oval Office briefing
President Donald Trump lashed out at CNN’s Kristen Holmes during a White House press briefing on Monday, Variety reports. Holmes asked whether Trump had spoken with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un about military exercises. Trump responded by telling her to be quiet and calling her a fake reporter.
Holmes had followed up on Trump’s social media post from Sunday about U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises. Trump had written that he would instruct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce those exercises. He told Holmes, “Be quiet! Be quiet! Be quiet! You’re a fake reporter and you report fake news.”
The confrontation also involved a question about Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff’s remarks regarding Trump aide Natalie Harp. Ossoff had referenced Harp and a Qatar-donated aircraft during a campaign rally earlier that day. The White House’s Rapid Response 47 account then attacked Holmes on X over that question.
The account called Holmes “a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession” in its post. The White House communications team further wrote that Holmes’ children would someday be embarrassed by her question. The press event had originally been scheduled to honor teenage lifeguard Ryder Williams from Santa Cruz.
CNN firmly defended Holmes in a statement responding to the White House attacks. The network called her “one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House” currently. CNN stated that Holmes asked a tough but relevant and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people. The network also added that personal attacks on journalists for asking questions remain inconsistent with free press principles. CNN concluded by rejecting the attacks “in the strongest possible terms” and standing firmly behind their correspondent.
