President Donald Trump reportedly went on offense Monday against ABC senior political reporter Rachel Scott, calling her “terrible” and “the most obnoxious reporter” in the White House press corps after she pressed him on whether he would release classified footage of a military strike carried out on September 2.
The strike — part of the administration’s aggressive campaign against suspected drug-smuggling vessels — has generated controversy in recent weeks after critics of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth alleged there was an illegal second strike on survivors. The Washington Post reported Hegseth had issued a “kill everybody” order — a claim Hegseth has denied and that subsequent reporting from The New York Times undermined. A senior Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said last week that Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley also rejected the Post’s version of events.
At Monday’s briefing, Scott asked Trump to clarify whether he would release the full video of the strike. “Are you committing to releasing the whole video?” she asked.
“Didn’t I just tell you that?” Trump shot back.
“You said it was up to Secretary Hegseth,” Scott responded.
That’s when Trump unloaded. “You are the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just tell ya, you are an obnoxious — actually, a terrible reporter,” Trump said. “And it’s always the same thing with you. I told you, whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is okay with me.”
The tense exchange followed Scott’s attempt to question Trump about a previous comment he made on December 3, when he said, “I don’t know what [footage] they have, but whatever they have, we’d certainly release no problem.” When Scott tried to ask him about that, Trump denied ever saying it and accused ABC of spreading “fake news.”
Trump reiterated that he is deferring to Hegseth, saying “whatever” the secretary decides is fine. He then highlighted what he described as the success of the administration’s anti-smuggling campaign, claiming there has been a 94 percent reduction in drug boats entering the United States. Each destroyed vessel, he said, saves an estimated 25,000 American lives.
Since early September, the Trump administration has carried out more than 20 strikes on suspected drug boats.
Critics, including political opponents and some in the media, have attempted to paint Hegseth’s actions on September 2 as unlawful, citing the early Washington Post report that alleged he ordered a second strike on two surviving individuals after an initial blast killed nine. But reporting from the New York Times contradicted that narrative, stating the Post’s chronology was incorrect and that Hegseth’s alleged order was not a response to surveillance footage of survivors.
Rep. Himes further confirmed last week that Adm. Bradley denied the Post’s claims altogether.
Trump, clearly frustrated with what he described as partisan media distortions, dismissed Scott’s line of questioning as yet another attempt to push a false narrative. His fiery exchange underscores tensions between the White House and a press corps that, in Trump’s view, has repeatedly tried to weaponize incomplete or incorrect reporting to damage his administration’s reputation.
