Rerun

recurring remark

The recurring insults aimed at female journalists

Embed this timeline

For an email newsletter, use the story's image instead and link it to the story: https://rerunwire.com/s/insults-aimed-at-female-journalists/card.png

Links in the embed lead to this page; its address never changes.

You're probably here because of the Jul 2026 rerun. This is the 15th time since 2016 (archive start) this story has run. The previous rerun was May 2026.

About this story

Since 2015, Donald Trump has repeatedly answered questions or reporting from women journalists with personal remarks. Some were about their intelligence ("stupid," "not thinking," "dumb person"), some about their looks ("ugly," "piggy") and some about their manner ("nasty," "obnoxious"). Press groups have described the remarks as a pattern. These include the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), whose tracker listed 39 documented attacks as of October 2026. The White House has said the remarks have "nothing to do with gender" and reflect low public trust in the media.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

20162026

Jul 2026 "What a stupid question" to Jennifer Jacobs (CBS News)

On July 27, 2026, aboard Air Force One, CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs asked President Trump why the Senate should stay in Washington for the SAVE Act rather than campaign before the midterms. Trump answered "What a stupid question!" When she asked, "Shouldn't they be out campaigning, though?", he said: "What a stupid question. For Jennifer to ask such a stupid — she's a smart person. I knew her all the way back in the Iowa days when she said Trump's going to win, and boy was she right" (HuffPost). HuffPost, Newsweek and The Daily Beast all reported it as the latest of his insults toward female reporters. Newsweek placed it next to earlier incidents: "Quiet, quiet piggy" to Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey, calling ABC's Rachel Scott's question "stupid" in May 2026, and asking CBS's Nancy Cordes "Are you stupid?"

  • HuffPost article
    "What a stupid question!" Trump shouted in response.
  • The Daily Beast article
    Donald Trump has lashed out at yet another female reporter, this time for asking about the proposed voting reforms he has spent months obsessing over.
  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    Trump said: 'What a stupid question for you to ask me.'

Sources: HuffPost needs a second source · Yahoo News reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · The Daily Beast needs a second source · rawstory.com needs a second source

May 2026 Rachel Scott "horror show," then Akayla Gardner "dumb person"

On May 7, 2026, near the Lincoln Memorial, ABC News's Rachel Scott asked Trump: "Mr. President, you are here against the backdrop of the war in a Iran. Why focus on all these projects right now with gas prices soaring?" (Mediaite transcript). When she tried a follow-up, he said it was "Such a stupid question that you asked." He added "you can understand dirt, maybe better than I can," and called her "one of the worst reporters" and "a horror show." The White House's Rapid Response 47 account posted the exchange with the caption "@POTUS destroys ABC Fake News reporter" (HuffPost). On May 11, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) said in a statement that the remark about "dirt" "landed as part of a familiar pattern in which Black women journalists are demeaned personally rather than answered substantively" (theGrio). On May 12, on the South Lawn, MS NOW's Akayla Gardner said to Trump, "You wanted [Federal Reserve Chair] Jerome Powell fired for cost overruns. How is that different than your ballroom and the reflecting pool?" After he said the ballroom was "under budget," she said, "The price has doubled." Trump replied, "I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. I doubled the size." When she asked about the reflecting pool, he said, "You are not a smart person" (MS NOW). White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said of the remarks to Gardner, "This has nothing to do with gender – it has everything to do with the fact that the President's and the public's trust in the media is at all-time lows," as reported by The Daily Beast and quoted by Blavity. Blavity also reported that Rapid Response 47 posted a clip of the Gardner exchange, labeling her remark "FAKE NEWS."

  • mediaite.com article
    This is one of the worst reporters. She's with ABC fake news and she's a horror show.
  • HuffPost article
    @POTUS destroys ABC Fake News reporter
  • ms.now article
    President Donald Trump on Tuesday called MS NOW's Akayla Gardner "a dumb person"
  • blavity.com article
    This has nothing to do with gender – it has everything to do with the fact that the President's and the public's trust in the media is at all-time lows.
  • youtube.com video

Sources: mediaite.com needs a second source · Fox News needs a second source · thegrio.com needs a second source · ms.now needs a second source · HuffPost needs a second source · blavity.com needs a second source

Mar 2026 "You're a very obnoxious person"

According to the official transcript of the March 15, 2026 exchange, a reporter asked, "Can you explain why we're sending 5,000 marines and sailors? Can you explain why——". Trump answered, "You're a very obnoxious person," and took a question from someone else. Newsweek and The Daily Beast both described the reporter as a woman, and The Daily Beast identified her as an ABC News reporter. The Daily Beast rendered his reply as "Shhhhh. You're a very obnoxious person," and Newsweek said Trump appeared to make a "shhh" gesture before turning to a male reporter. Both outlets placed the exchange in a series of clashes with women reporters; The Daily Beast's list included "Quiet, piggy!" to Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Newsweek: "Americans appreciate that President Trump tells it like it is—and obnoxious is obnoxious, no matter what gender you are."

  • govinfo.gov statement
    Q. Can you explain why we're sending 5,000 marines and sailors? Can you explain why—— The President. You're a very obnoxious person.
  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    obnoxious is obnoxious, no matter what gender you are.
  • Yahoo News article
    "Shhhhh. You're a very obnoxious person," he responded.

Sources: govinfo.gov reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · Yahoo News reliable · The Daily Beast needs a second source · mediaite.com needs a second source

Feb 2026 Kaitlan Collins, "I don't think I've ever seen you smile"

On February 3, 2026, Collins, a CNN White House reporter and anchor, asked Trump about Epstein survivors who felt they had not gotten justice. He answered with personal remarks about her rather than the question: she was "the worst reporter," and he had never "seen a smile on your face." Newsweek put the exchange in a series of "testy exchanges between the president and female reporters." That series includes the November 14, 2025 "Quiet, piggy" remark to Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey. Newsweek also notes that Trump had earlier called Collins "always Stupid and Nasty" in a December Truth Social post. CNN told Newsweek that Collins is an "exceptional" and "skillful" journalist. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek: "President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency. This has nothing to do with gender – it has everything to do with the fact that the President's and the public's trust in the media is at all time lows."

  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    I don't think I've ever seen you smile. I've known you for 10 years, I don't think I've ever seen a smile on your face.
  • TheWrap article
    Kaitlan Collins appears unfazed by President Donald Trump's personal attack on her demeanor while reporting the news, once again keeping things professional.
  • youtube.com video
    I don't think I've ever seen you smile. I've known you for 10 years, I don't think I've ever seen a smile on your face

Sources: Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · TheWrap reliable · iwmf.org needs a second source · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source

Nov 2025 "Ugly, both inside and out" (Katie Rogers, NYT) and "Are you a stupid person?" (Nancy Cordes, CBS News)

On Nov. 26, 2025, Trump wrote on Truth Social that New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers, "who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out." The post followed a Times article she co-authored on his age and physical stamina in his second term (CBS News). He did not mention the co-author, Dylan Freedman (CBS News; Time spells the name "Freeman"). A Times spokesperson said, "Name-calling and personal insults don't change that, nor will our journalists hesitate to cover this administration in the face of intimidation tactics like this" (CBS News). White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, "President Trump has never been politically correct, never holds back, and in large part, the American people re-elected him for his transparency," adding, "This has nothing to do with gender" (People, via AOL). On Nov. 27 at Mar-a-Lago, CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes cited a Justice Department inspector general finding that Afghan evacuees had been thoroughly vetted and asked, "So why do you blame the Biden administration —" Trump answered, "Because they let him in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?" (CBS News, Newsweek). CBS News reported both remarks together with the "Quiet, piggy" remark to Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey earlier that month, as the latest in a series aimed at female reporters. Axios described the Cordes exchange as part of escalating attacks on women reporters.

  • Time article
    The writer of the story, Katie Rogers, who is assigned to write only bad things about me, is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.
  • cbsnews.com article
    Rogers' byline on the piece about Mr. Trump's aging in office is listed alongside another reporter, Dylan Freedman, a machine-learning engineer and journalist at the New York Times.
  • aol.com article
    "This has nothing to do with gender," Jackson insisted, adding, "it has everything to do with the fact that the President's and the public's trust in the media is at all time lows."
  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    Because they let them in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?
  • Fox News article
    President Donald Trump called CBS News White House correspondent Nancy Cordes a "stupid person" during questioning about Afghan refugee vetting.

Sources: Time reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · aol.com needs a second source · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · Axios reliable

Nov 2025 "Quiet, piggy" (Catherine Lucey) and Mary Bruce

On Nov. 14, 2025, during a gaggle on Air Force One, Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey asked Trump about the Epstein files. He pointed at her and said "Quiet! Quiet, piggy." Asked about the comment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is "very frank and honest" with reporters, adding, "I think the president being frank and open and honest to your faces rather than hiding behind your backs, is, frankly, a lot more respectful than what you saw in the last administration" (CBS News). A Bloomberg spokesperson told the Washington Post that "our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favor" (CBS News). On Nov. 18 in the Oval Office, ABC News chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce asked about his family's business in Saudi Arabia and asked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Trump told her, "I think you are a terrible reporter," and said ABC's license "should be taken away." CBS News reported that he accused Bruce of embarrassing the crown prince with her question and said the question was "horrible" and "insubordinate." The Society of Professional Journalists issued one statement covering both incidents and called them "part of an unmistakable pattern of hostility — often directed at women."

  • bostonglobe.com article
    I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it's so wrong.
  • cbsnews.com article
    the president snapped at Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey, telling her "Quiet. Quiet, piggy."
  • CNN broadcast

Sources: bostonglobe.com needs a second source · cbsnews.com reliable · Yahoo News reliable · Yahoo News reliable

Sep 2025 "That's why you're second-rate" (Yamiche Alcindor, NBC News)

On Sept. 7, 2025, NBC News reporter Yamiche Alcindor asked Trump whether he was trying to "go to war with Chicago," following his Truth Social post. He called her "darling," told her to "be quiet," and said "that's why you're second-rate." TheGrio reports that Trump had insulted Alcindor before: in 2018 he called her question a "racist question," in 2019 he called her "untruthful," and in 2020 he called a question a "nasty question."

  • Yahoo News article
    Listen. Be quiet. Listen. You don't listen. You never listen. That's why you're second-rate.
  • youtube.com video

Sources: Yahoo News reliable · thegrio.com needs a second source

Jul 2024 – ongoing Rachel Scott at the NABJ convention

On July 31, 2024, Donald Trump took part in a live on-stage interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, moderated by three Black women journalists. ABC News' Rachel Scott's first question listed things he had said before. She said, "You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States," and cited his telling four congresswomen of color to "go back to where they came from," and calling Black journalists' questions "stupid and racist." She then asked, "why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?" Trump replied that he had never "been asked a question… in such a horrible manner," called ABC "a fake news network," and later called it "a very nasty question." The 19th reported that he used the word "nasty" twice about Scott's questioning and said he was "treated so rudely by this woman."

  • rollcall.com statement
    Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question so -- 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.
  • 19thnews.org article
    Trump twice used the word "nasty" to refer to Scott's questioning, recalling Trump's "nasty woman" attack against Hillary Clinton.
  • c-span.org video Watch
    Trump criticized one of the reporter's questions and proceeded to call her and her employer, ABC News, fake news.

Sources: 19thnews.org needs a second source · rollcall.com reliable

May 2020 "Ask China" to CBS's Weijia Jiang

At a Rose Garden briefing on May 11, 2020, CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he saw coronavirus testing as a global competition when more than 80,000 Americans had died (CNN). He answered: "Maybe that's a question you should ask China." Jiang asked, "Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically?" Trump replied, "I'm not saying it specifically to anybody. I'm saying it to anybody that asks a nasty question." Jiang said, "That's not a nasty question." He then declined to take a question from CNN's Kaitlan Collins and ended the briefing. CNN reported that Jiang was born in China and immigrated to the US when she was two, and that "some critics said Trump's remarks toward Jiang were racist." CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said, "It's racist to look at an Asian-American White House correspondent and say, 'Ask China'" (Al Jazeera). The next day, asked on "Fox & Friends" whether Trump had challenged the reporter because she is Asian, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, "No, that's a ridiculous assertion" (Mediaite).

  • CNN article
    "Maybe that's a question you should ask China," Trump told Jiang.
  • itv.com article
    Mr Trump said he would say that to "anyone who asks a nasty question".
  • mediaite.com article
    "No, that's a ridiculous assertion," McEnany replied.

Sources: CNN reliable · itv.com needs a second source · Al Jazeera reliable · mediaite.com needs a second source

Mar 2020 "Be nice. Don't be threatening" to Yamiche Alcindor (PBS NewsHour)

At the March 29, 2020 briefing, PBS NewsHour reporter Yamiche Alcindor asked Trump about comments from his Fox News interview with Sean Hannity. Those comments questioned whether governors needed all the medical equipment they were asking for. Trump denied making them, then told her: "That's why you used to work for the Times and now you work for somebody else… Be nice. Don't be threatening. Be nice" (Newsweek; NBC News). Alcindor later posted that she was "not the first human being, woman, black person or journalist to be told that while doing a job" (Newsweek). Two weeks earlier, on March 13, 2020, PBS reported that Trump called her question about the disbanded White House pandemic office "a nasty question."

  • NBC News article
    The #WeLoveYamiche hashtag caught on, becoming No. 1 in New York trending on March 30.
  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    #WeLoveYamiche was forth in the U.S. Twitter trending rankings with more than 74,000 tweets using the hashtag.
  • x.com social post
    I'm not the first human being, woman, black person or journalist to be told that while doing a job.
  • youtube.com video
    Be nice. Don't be threatening. Be nice

Sources: NBC News reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · The Hill reliable

Nov 2018 The post-midterm cluster: Alcindor, Ryan and Phillip

At a White House news conference the day after the midterms (Nov. 7, 2018), PBS NewsHour's Yamiche Alcindor asked Trump about calling himself a nationalist. Trump interrupted her: "I don't know why you'd say that, that's such a racist question" (The Hill). At the same news conference, Trump told April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks, "Sit down! I didn't call you," after she tried to ask about alleged voter suppression (Washington Post). On Nov. 9, outside the White House, CNN's Abby Phillip asked whether he wanted acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to "rein in" Robert Mueller. Trump replied, "What a stupid question that is… You ask a lot of stupid questions." That same day, he called Ryan "a loser" and "very nasty" while suggesting he might pull more reporters' press credentials (Washington Post).

  • The Hill article
    "I don't know why you'd say that, that's such a racist question," he interjected.
  • mediaite.com article
    "What a stupid question that is. What a stupid question. I watch you a lot. You ask a lot of stupid questions."
  • The Washington Post article
    "You talk about someone who's a loser," Trump said of Ryan.
  • youtube.com video

Sources: The Washington Post reliable · The Hill reliable · mediaite.com needs a second source · theroot.com needs a second source

Oct 2018 "You never do" to Cecilia Vega

On October 1, 2018, at a Rose Garden news conference about the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, Trump called on ABC News reporter Cecilia Vega. He said, "She's shocked that I picked her… She's like in a state of shock." After she replied, he said, "That's OK. I know you're not thinking. You never do" (HuffPost, Adweek). Vega was trying to ask about the FBI investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Trump said he wanted trade questions first. At the same event, he told CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who was also asking about Kavanaugh, "Don't do that… That's not nice" (HuffPost) and "you've had enough" (Adweek). Adweek noted that five days earlier, on September 26, he had told CBS News' Weijia Jiang to "sit down."

  • adweek.com article
    TRUMP: That's OK, I know you're not thinking. You never do.
  • NBC News article
    The White House on Tuesday corrected its official record of President Donald Trump's Monday news conference to include his insult of a female reporter.
  • x.com social post
    A news conference means you get to ask whatever question you want to ask. #FirstAmendment
  • youtube.com video
    I know you're not thinking, you never do.

Sources: HuffPost needs a second source · adweek.com needs a second source · NBC News reliable · globalnews.ca needs a second source

Jun 2017 The "face-lift" tweets about Mika Brzezinski

On June 29, 2017, President Trump tweeted about the co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," who had criticized him on the show. He wrote: "I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came ... to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!" (PBS NewsHour). CNN reported that social media commenters noted he targeted both hosts but commented only on Brzezinski's appearance. Time reported that the tweet "followed a trend of Trump singling out female reporters, often for their appearance." Deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at that day's briefing, "I don't think it's a surprise to anybody that he fights fire with fire" (NPR). The next day, in a Washington Post column quoted by CNN, Brzezinski and co-host Joe Scarborough wrote that "the president's petulant personal attack against yet another woman's looks compels us to report that Mika has never had a face-lift."

  • x.com social post
    ...to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!
  • x.com social post
  • NPR article
    I don't think it's a surprise to anybody that he fights fire with fire.
  • The Hill article
    Trump's attacks quickly drew bipartisan denunciations.
  • money.cnn.com article
    the president's petulant personal attack against yet another woman's looks compels us to report that Mika has never had a face-lift.

Sources: Public Broadcasting Service reliable · NPR reliable · The Hill reliable · money.cnn.com needs a second source · money.cnn.com needs a second source · Time reliable

Nov 2016 Trump names NBC's Katy Tur at a Miami rally

At a Miami rally on Nov. 2, 2016, Trump named NBC News reporter Katy Tur from the stage. He said she was "not reporting" the size of his crowds and repeated her name four times. CNN reported that this came after he called her a "third-rate journalist" at a rally the previous December and told her to "be quiet" at a July news conference. Fortune called the Miami remark "the third time he has attacked her in front of a crowd." Reporters at the rally said a supporter then taunted Tur, and journalists answered with the #ImWithTur hashtag.

  • Media Matters for America article
    Katy, you're not reporting it, Katy. But there's something happening, Katy. There's something happening, Katy.
  • money.cnn.com article
    Now this guy behind me is just endlessly taunting her,
  • fortune.com article
    This is a schtick that he does to rile up his base,

Sources: Media Matters for America needs a second source · money.cnn.com needs a second source · fortune.com reliable

Jan 2016 Megyn Kelly and the Fox debate boycott

On Jan. 23, 2016, Trump tweeted: "Based on @MegynKelly's conflict of interest and bias she should not be allowed to be a moderator of the next debate." Fox refused to remove Kelly as a moderator of its Jan. 28 Iowa debate, and Trump skipped it. That week he called Kelly a "lightweight" in a Jan. 26 press conference and a Jan. 27 tweet. On Jan. 28 he retweeted a post calling her "the bimbo that's asking presidential questions." He told CNN on Jan. 28: "I'm not a person that respects Megyn Kelly very much. I think she's highly overrated." The dispute went back to August 2015, when, according to NBC News, Kelly "pressed him at the first GOP debate on his disparaging remarks about women."

  • PolitiFact article
    Well, I'm not a person that respects Megyn Kelly very much. I think she's highly overrated. Other than that, I don't care," he told CNN an hour before the debate.
  • slate.com article
    And this is the bimbo that's asking presidential questions?
  • Public Broadcasting Service article
    I refuse to call Megyn Kelly a bimbo, because that would not be politically correct. Instead I will only call her a lightweight reporter!

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · slate.com needs a second source · NBC News reliable

Data: JSON · CSV · about the data

Related stories