President Donald Trump sharply criticized an ABC News reporter on Tuesday, Nov. 18, even suggesting the network should have its FCC license revoked after she pressed him on questions related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The exchange began when ABC’s Mary Bruce asked about Epstein during an Oval Office press conference. Trump, 79, responded angrily, later identified Bruce by name after media reporter Brian Stelter referenced the moment on social media.
“People are wise to your hoax,” Trump told Bruce. “ABC, your company, your crappy company is one of the perpetrators. And I’ll tell you something, I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and is so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, a chairman, who should look at that.”
“I think when you come in, and when you’re 97% negative to Trump, and then Trump wins the election in a landslide, that means obviously your news is not credible,” he continued. “And you’re not credible as a reporter, so I’ve answered your question. You should go and look at the Democrats who received money from Epstein.”
Trump then escalated his attack, saying, “You’re not after the radical left because you’re a radical left network. But I think the way you ask a question with the anger and the meanness is terrible. You ought to go back and learn how to be a reporter. No more questions from you.”
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The tense back-and-forth took place as Trump sat beside Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, with the two leaders meeting in the Oval Office just as a high-profile Epstein records bill was heading toward a House vote on Tuesday afternoon.
Trump’s comments came only days after he drew widespread criticism for calling another reporter a “piggy” when she asked him about the same Epstein files while he traveled aboard Air Force One from Washington, D.C., to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday, Nov. 14.
Earlier that week, the House Oversight Committee had released multiple emails in which Epstein referred to Trump by name, including one claiming Trump “knew about the girls” and had “asked ghislaine [Maxwell] to stop.”
Responding to questions about those emails on Air Force One, Trump said, “I know nothing about that. They would have announced that a long time ago,” adding, “Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years.”
When an off-camera female journalist, later identified as a Bloomberg reporter, began to ask whether there was anything “incriminating” in the emails, Trump pointed at her and said, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
In the days that followed, Trump continued to lash out at journalists who brought up Epstein. Two days after the “piggy” incident, he snapped at another reporter who asked about Tucker Carlson’s interview with far-right podcaster Nick Fuentes.
“Well, I found him to be good. I mean, he’s said good things about me over the years. He’s, I think he’s good,” Trump said of Carlson, the former Fox News host. “We’ve had some good interviews. I did an interview with him where we had 300 million hits.”
When the reporter tried to ask a follow-up while Trump was still speaking, he cut them off. “Will you let me finish my statement? You are the worst,” he said, before asking, “You’re with Bloomberg, right? You are the worst. I don’t know why they even have you.”
Trump’s threat toward ABC on Tuesday also followed his recent public demand that NBC fire late-night host Seth Meyers.
“NBC’s Seth Meyers is suffering from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS),” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday, Nov. 15.
“He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage, likely due to the fact that his ‘show’ is a Ratings DISASTER,” Trump continued. “Aside from everything else, Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY!”
Roughly 30 minutes after Trump’s post, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reposted a screenshot of the Truth Social message on X, without adding any additional comment.
