President Donald Trump made a scathing attack on MS NOW during a NATO summit press conference. However, he later reversed course and praised the reporter’s question. The outburst in Ankara, Turkey, saw him brand the network a failure before fielding a query about US alliances.
After attacking the network, Donald Trump called Ines de La Cuetara’s question ‘very fair’
The sudden tonal shift came during a Wednesday morning session where Donald Trump fielded queries alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Correspondent Ines de La Cuetara barely finished introducing herself before Trump cut in. “You’re with who?” he demanded. Learning she worked for the rebranded MSNBC triggered an immediate volley of insults. “MS NOW? That’s a failing network. Why would you want to work for them?” Trump said. He mocked the outlet’s November name change, claiming it dropped NBC out of embarrassment. “Can you imagine? They wanted to get away.”
De La Cuetara, who joined the network in December after leaving ABC News, pressed ahead undeterred. She asked whether the US would defend Spain, Italy, and the UK if they faced attack, given Trump’s earlier accusation that those allies withheld support during the Iran war.
The president’s demeanour softened. Spain had been “very bad,” he conceded, but Italy and nearly all other nations had acted admirably despite a “bad moment.” Furthermore, UK officials, Trump claimed, wanted to “wait until the war is over” before helping. “This was not the spirit of Winston Churchill,” he added.
Then the sting evaporated. President Trump declared the summit’s real headline was “unification,” describing an outpouring of mutual affection among allies. “It was a nice thing to say,” he told MS NOW’s De La Cuetara, “and it was a very fair question too.” The exchange extends Trump’s lengthy record of clashing with female journalists.
MS NOW or its spokesperson has not made any comment. Meanwhile, AdWeek numbers show the network is second in primetime and total-day viewers for June, naming it the month’s “standout” performer.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
