Trump Attacks Rachel Scott For Asking What We All Want To Know
Trump Attacks Rachel Scott For Asking Him What We All Want To Know
Not a single day goes by without President Donald Trump proving throughout the day that, for him, we have greatly lowered the bar for what’s considered acceptable behavior for a commander in chief, or any elected official, for that matter. (Or any well-adjusted adult, for that matter.)
But we should be particularly concerned about the trend of Trump and many in his administration bullying around members of the free press when they are asked relevant, substantive, journalistic questions that simply make things too uncomfortable for politicians who only know how to communicate to the public in platitudes and propaganda.
Also, Trump really, reeeeeally hates Black woman reporters, and ABC News’ Rachel Scott is proof.
On Thursday, Trump staged a visit to the Lincoln Memorial to show off his new paint job on the Reflecting Pool. Scott asked the president a simple question that, under the same circumstances, any other president would be asked and expected to answer with some modicum of presidential decorum.
“Mr. President, you are here against the backdrop of the war in a Iran. Why focus on all these projects right now, especially with gas prices soaring?” she asked.
Trump, as usual, did not respond with a modicum of presidential decorum.
“You know why? Because I wanna keep our country beautiful and safe. Beautiful also. This place was a disgusting place. It was, Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and we had a terrible, disgusting … you probably don’t see dirt. But I do. And you walked down this pond. If you would’ve walked down, they’ll tell you better than anybody. They had to take 11 or 12 truckloads of garbage out of that lake, out of that water. And it sat there for years like that. And that’s not what our country’s about. Our country’s about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital,” Trump began, sounding like a bratty, indignant child who just got told his sand castle was uneven on one side. (Also, I can’t be the only one who wishes someone would beat him over the head with a thesaurus until he comes up with another word besides “beautiful.”)
Then Trump retreated into his usual display of delusion and defensiveness by lobbing personal attacks at Scott.
“Such a stupid question that you asked. We’re fixing up the reflecting pond to the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument. And you say, ‘Why are you fixing anything up?’ Because you can understand dirt, maybe better than I can. But I don’t allow it,” he continued, ignoring what Scott had actually asked him, which was not why he was cleaning the pool, but why he was making such a big presentation out of it when he should be focused on the pointless, disastrous war he started, and the tanking economy, which, along with the war and his poorly-handled mass deportation efforts, has given him the lowest approval ratings in the history of presidential approval ratings.
“This is one of the worst reporters. She’s with ABC fake news and she’s a horror show. She’s saying, ‘Why would you bother fixing this up? Why would I bother taking 11 or 12 truckloads of filth out of the water in front of the Lincoln monument?’ That’s what made our country great. Beauty made our country. People made our country great. A question like that is a disgrace to our country,” Trump concluded, before appearing to call Scott a “b—h” as he walked away. At least that’s what it looked like to many people who viewed the footage on social media.
The fact of the matter is Trump’s war in Iran and the economic woes that have come with it have dominated the news cycle and the concerns of most U.S. citizens, who are viewing the horrors daily from the outside looking in. Trump literally posts about Iran every hour on the hour, and that’s probably being generous. What’s been more frustrating for many people is that, while all of this is going on, Trump is constantly rambling on about his stupid-ass bunker-ballroom, the damn pool at the Lincoln Memorial that no one has ever asked him about, and whatever mundane side mission pops into his head while he continues to make the so-called greatest nation in the world a global laughing stock.
So, why wouldn’t a journalist address the elephant in the room, rather than appease our petulant child of a president, which is not the job of the press?
Mind you, Trump did this to Scott before when he was still running for his second term in 2024, and he did it when Black journalists were on their home court, at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
From our previous report:
When Rachel Scott, the senior congressional correspondent for ABC—and, in all honesty, the only one of the event’s three panelists who seemed to have the gumption to address the orangey-white nationalist elephant in the room—asked Trump about his racism and his insults to the media, specifically Black media, he lashed out at her as if he was dumbfounded that he was invited to a Black event to answer questions that are relevant to Black people.
“You attack Black journalists, calling them ‘a loser,’ saying the questions that they asked are, quote, ‘stupid and racist,’” Scott said to Trump. “You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you, after you have used language like that?”
Scott could have gone much further than she did with her opening question to Trump, but it wouldn’t have mattered, because Trump’s response would have been the same angry, whiny, hyper-white-privileged and childish non-response.
Here’s Trump’s out-of-the-gate response:
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, a first question. You don’t even say ‘Hello, how are you.’ Are you with ABC, because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network,” Trump said, also whining that Scott’s perfectly reasonable and relevant question was “nasty.”
First of all, Trump is, per usual, lying. He’s lying about never before being asked such a question in what he considers a “horrible manner.” Of course, he’s been asked before about his constant personal insults to his detractors and his rude, offensive and bigoted behavior. It’s his responses to those questions that are always the same, and they always end with him throwing a fit, especially when it’s Black journalists who persecute him by, well—asking him questions he doesn’t want to answer but should certainly be able to if he wants our votes.
And nothing has changed since he managed to get himself reelected. In fact, it has only gotten worse. Now, he’s calling female reporters “piggy,” berating them for any question that denotes anti-Trump criticism, and his Cabinet members and press secretary have also made a habit of doing the same, telling reporters they’re asking stupid questions, when, actually, they’re asking relevant, topical, and practical journalistic questions that any elected or appointed official should be ready to answer.
Trump doesn’t appear to have learned anything from his recent humiliation that came as a result of his throwing a temper tantrum that had him screaming “I’m not a pedophile” and “I’m not a rapist” at 60 Minutes host Norah O’Donnell, who had only read part of a suspected gunman’s manifesto, which didn’t even address the president by name.
Again, these reporters are not tripping Trump up with “gotcha” questions; they’re asking questions anyone who calls themselves journalists, and respects the craft of journalism, should ask — or at least that used to be the expectation before we lowered the standard to accommodate the moronic, outwardly bigoted, woefully incompetent man-child we put back in the White House.
It is a sad state of affairs, to say the least.
SEE ALSO:
Trump, Angry Over Aging Report, Berates Female Journalist
Black Journalists And Black Freedom Go Hand-In-Hand
Donald Trump Disrespects Another Black Female Journalist
Trump Attacks Rachel Scott For Asking Him What We All Want To Know was originally published on newsone.com
