‘I thought they died’: Trump disrespects a media outlet after reporters question his vice president
Donald Trump’s feud with the media continues as he attempts to insult a media outlet that questioned his vice president.
Since his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has been particularly fixated on controlling the media. Whether it’s through sarcasm, insults, or lawsuits, he has been coming down hard on journalists who paint him in anything but the most perfect light or ask him difficult questions. During his campaign, he sued ABC and George Stephanopoulos based on a technicality of the outlet saying he was convicted of rape instead of “sexual abuse.” He also attempted to sue CBS over its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris because he disliked its editing.
As President, he has threatened to shut down MSNBC, allowed the FCC to investigate NPR and PBS, and hurled insults and sarcasm at journalists. During a press conference for the devastating plane crash that claimed 67 lives, Trump cracked jokes about reporters’ questions and insulted their intelligence. In another briefing, he insulted the accent of an Afghan journalist and refused to answer her question. Now, his beef with the media has expanded to HuffPost for questioning Vice President J. D. Vance.
Donald Trump insults media outlet over question about J. D. Vance
Recently, HuffPost reporter S.V. Dáte spoke with Trump while the president was traveling to the Super Bowl on Air Force One. During their exchange, Dáte asked Trump to clarify a concerning statement from Vance. Following a federal judge’s order halting DOGE’s illegal access to the U.S. Treasury, Vance issued a statement questioning the judicial branch’s authority to question the executive branch. He suggested the executive branch should have unchecked power, writing, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” It’s a huge red flag for the Vice President of the United States to challenge or feign ignorance of the government’s basic system of checks and balances.
So, Dáte pressed Trump on whether he agreed with the suggestion that the executive branch doesn’t have to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. He asked, “The vice president suggested that if the Supreme Court rules in a way that you don’t like, they could just enforce it by themselves. Do you agree with that?” Trump dodged the question, ranting, “I don’t know even what you’re talking about. Neither do you. Who are you with?” When Dáte responded he was from HuffPost, Trump attempted to insult the media, claiming he thought the outlet was “dead.” He stated, “Oh, no wonder. I thought they, I thought they died. Are they still around? I haven’t read them in years. I thought they died.”
It was a feeble insult, especially since it became his go-to attempt to discredit the media. He also recently claimed he didn’t know Time magazine was still around, just weeks after he happily posed for its cover and participated in its Person of the Year feature. HuffPost wasn’t bothered by the remark either, as a spokesperson stated, “His loss — perhaps his biggest since 2020. Millions of Americans are tuning into HuffPost’s coverage to stay informed about the consequences of Trump’s presidency.”
Trump’s inability to respond professionally to journalists only reflects poorly on himself. As President of the United States, he should know how to handle hard questions from journalists. If he doesn’t want to answer for his Vice President’s actions, he may wish to advise Vance not to publicly challenge the government’s checks and balances in social media rants.
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