‘Be Quiet!’: Donald Trump Snaps at Kristen Holmes, CNN Fires Back After ‘Personal Attacks’
President Donald Trump berated CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes in the Oval Office after she attempted to ask a question about military exercises with South Korea. It happened during an event honoring a teenage lifeguard and the 10-year-old boy he rescued, and it prompted CNN to issue a statement condemning the president’s behavior.
Donald Trump clashes with CNN’s Kristen Holmes, network issues statement
The event began on a positive note as Donald Trump honored 16-year-old Ryder Williams and 10-year-old Nathaniel Rai, whose dramatic July 25 ocean rescue in Santa Cruz, California, went viral. “We’re honored to have all of you,” Trump told the pair. “When I first saw it, I said: ‘Roll that back. I want to see that again. Is that really happening?’”
But the tone shifted when the president opened the floor to questions. After fielding queries about White House aide Natalie Harp and attacking Democrats, Holmes attempted to ask about the decision to scale back joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. She shouted her question multiple times alongside other reporters in the press pool.
Trump eventually snapped. “QUIET!” he demanded. Turning to Rai, who sat nearby with his father, the president said, “You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man, OK? Don’t you find her disrespectful? He understands. Quiet! Who are you with?”
Kristen Holmes answered that she was from CNN and wanted to follow up on a Korea question another reporter had asked. Trump cut her off: “Fake news. You’re fake news! You’re a loud, boisterous person.” As Holmes tried to explain, the president repeated, “BE QUIET! BE QUIET! You’re a fake reporter, and you report fake news!”
The exchange echoed previous clashes between Donald Trump and female journalists. Additionally, the White House rapid response account escalated the attacks, calling Holmes “a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession.”
Another post said her children would one day be “sickened and embarrassed” by her question.
CNN responded with a formal statement defending its correspondent. “This afternoon, she did her job and asked the President of the United States a tough, relevant and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people,” the network said. “Personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press. We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms” (via The Daily Beast).
Source: Comingsoon.net