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| Trump, Holmes (on right) |
President Donald Trump repeatedly told CNN White House correspondent Kristen Holmes to “be quiet” and labeled her a “fake reporter” during an Oval Office event on Monday, after she pressed him on his communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and related policy moves. CNN responded that the White House’s subsequent personal attacks on the journalist are “beneath the office.”
The confrontation occurred while Trump hosted 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams, who rescued 10-year-old Nathaniel Rai from heavy surf in Santa Cruz, California, along with the boy himself. Trump had discussed his relationship with Kim Jong Un and defended scaling back joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. When Holmes sought to follow up on whether Kim had requested the reduction, Trump interrupted her. “Quiet. You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man, okay?” Trump said, turning toward the young guests and asking if they found her disrespectful.
After learning she worked for CNN, he continued: “Fake news. You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news. Be quiet… You’re a fake reporter and you report fake news.” Earlier in the session, Holmes had asked about comments from Sen. Jon Ossoff regarding Trump’s White House aide Natalie Harp and a planned ballroom project. The White House’s Rapid Response account later escalated with personal posts targeting Holmes, including one suggesting her children would be “sickened and embarrassed” by her questions. In a statement, a CNN spokesperson said:
Trump also dismissed separate reporting on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during the event, calling related CNN coverage “fake news.” The exchange fits a pattern of sharp exchanges between the president and journalists, particularly female reporters, during his second term.