What did Donald Trump do today?
He threw a tantrum because a woman asked him about a promise he'd made five days ago and apparently forgotten.
On December 3, ABC News reporter Selina Wang asked Trump about his plans to release video of the second strike on the defenseless survivors of the Sept. 2 military attack on a boat in the Caribbean.
SELINA WANG, ABC NEWS: Mr. President, you released video of that first boat strike on September 2nd, but not the second video. Will you release video of that strike so that the American people can see for themselves what happened?
TRUMP: I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we’d certainly release, no problem.
This is significant because the video of the second strike is very likely evidence of a war crime. So far it has only been by selected members of Congress, who have called it "deeply disturbing" among other things.
Today, Trump was asked by another ABC News reporter about his promise to "certainly release" the video to the American public. He became angry, lashed out at her, and tried to pass the buck to his subordinate, Pete Hegseth.
RACHEL SCOTT, ABC NEWS: Mr. President, you said you would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2nd off the coast of Venezuela. Secretary Hegseth now says –
TRUMP: I didn’t say that. That’s – you said that, I didn’t say that. This is ABC fake news.
SCOTT: You said that you would have 'no problem' releasing the full — okay, well, Secretary Hegseth
TRUMP: Whatever Hegseth wants to do is okay with me.
SCOTT: He now says it's under review. Are you ordering the secretary to release that full video?
TRUMP: Whatever he decides is okay with me.
Trump then repeated his ludicrous claim that his extrajudicial attacks on these alleged drug-smuggling boats saves tens of thousands of American lives. In the space of two sentences, he claimed that number was 25,000 and 45,000. Afterwards, Scott followed up, prompting Trump to get visibly angry:
SCOTT: Are you committed to releasing the full video?
TRUMP: Didn't I just tell you that?
SCOTT: You said it was up to Secretary Hegseth—
TRUMP: You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. 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 Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.
Trump's temper has always been an issue, but it is growing harder and harder for him to control during his second term, particularly around female reporters.
Why does this matter?
- Presidents who can't handle "obnoxious" reporters really can't handle the questions they're asking.
- The rights of the American people to know what their military is being ordered to do are more important than Donald Trump's feelings.
- Donald Trump, not Pete Hegseth, is President of the United States.