President Donald Trump called a reporter “rotten” after she asked him to provide evidence of election fraud justifying the recent seizure of election records in Arizona.
On Wednesday, PBS White House correspondent Liz Landers asked Trump why the FBI seized election records in Arizona. Trump said, “Well, they probably thought the election was rigged, right?”
Landers pushed back, saying the 2020 election was not rigged, prompting Trump to ask her, “How do you know?”
She then reminded him that his own attorney general in 2020 determined that no evidence had been found of widespread voter fraud.
“If you say it wasn’t rigged, you’re a rotten reporter,” Trump replied before walking away.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes confirmed on Wednesday that she was “happy” to turn over the state’s election records for the Trump administration’s “unserious” probe, KTAR reports.
“The Trump administration is engaged in an unserious investigation into an election that took place six years ago based on nothing but conspiracy theories and lies,” Mayes said. “At the request of local leadership at Homeland Security Investigations, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office provided them with public records from the 2020 election investigation conducted under the prior attorney general, Mark Brnovich.”
She noted that the state attorney general’s office “spent 10,000 hours investigating every claim made by election deniers, from bamboo ballots imported from China to Italian spy satellites flipping votes to President Biden” and still found “no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election in Arizona.”
The 2020 election has remained a sore spot for Trump, who continues to insist that he only lost due to voter fraud. His insulting reaction to Landers has become fairly commonplace, especially when challenged by women reporters.
In February, Trump told Washington Post reporter Natalie Allison that she had a “very bad attitude” after insulting her publication. His response came after she asked him a question about a reported split in his MAGA base over his immigration agenda.
Earlier that week, the president made headlines again when he complained that CNN’s Kaitlan Collins doesn’t smile enough after she asked him a question about Jeffrey Epstein survivors.
Trump tried to deflect, saying he thinks it’s time for the country to move past Epstein, but Collins pushed him for an answer, asking about justice for the women victimized by Epstein’s operation.
Trump became angry, started ranting about CNN, and called Collins “the worst reporter.” He then complained that she never smiled.
“You know she’s a young woman,” Trump said to the rest of the room before redirecting to Collins. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile.”
He continued, saying, “I’ve known you for 10 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.”
“Well, I’m asking you about survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, Mr. President,” Collins said.
He also lashed out at Collins in December, saying she is “always Stupid and Nasty” in a Truth Social post.
A month before that, he called CBS chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes a “stupid person” when she asked him why he blamed the Biden administration for a shooting that killed two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. The attack was carried out by an Afghan national with ties to the CIA who had been brought to the U.S. after going through a vetting process.
“Because they let him in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane, along with thousands of other people that shouldn’t be here, and you’re just asking questions because you’re a stupid person,” he said.
The Trump administration approved the man’s asylum request before the shooting.
Earlier in November, Trump said New York Times reporter Katie Rogers — who wrote about his age and stamina — was “ugly inside and out” and snapped at Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey, saying “quiet, piggy.”
Trump has never been friendly to reporters who don’t shower him with positive coverage. His campaign rallies almost always included a moment where Trump directed booing and angry yells at the press in the room, and he famously dubbed any outlet that covered him critically as “fake news.”
Sometimes, even male reporters from Trump-friendly outlets catch his wrath.
Fox News’ Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy was subjected to his insults last week when he asked Trump whether or not Russia was helping Iran attack American targets in the president’s new Middle East war. Doocy asked the question during Trump’s “Save College Sports” roundtable event.
“Can I be honest? It’s just… I have a lot of respect for you,” Trump said. “You’ve always been very nice to me. What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.”
The president never answered Doocy’s question.
