Donald Trump’s clash with a CNN reporter took a sharp turn after the White House issued a response that crossed a line rarely seen in political attacks. The president and his administration escalated their feud with the network’s correspondent following a heated Oval Office exchange.
White House takes a swipe at Kristen Holmes after Donald Trump’s comments
The White House targeted CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes on Monday after she questioned President Donald Trump during an Oval Office news conference, as reported by The Washington Post. Holmes asked Trump about Sen. Jon Ossoff’s claims that he preferred traveling with aide Natalie Harp over doing his job. Trump fired back by calling Ossoff a “Pee-wee Herman look-alike” before turning on Holmes.
The White House’s rapid response account on X posted a video of the exchange afterward. It labeled Holmes a “disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession.” A second post crossed into personal territory, reading, “Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question.” The account added her children would be “sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive.”
Trump shushed Holmes repeatedly during the conference as well. He told her, “Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. You’re a fake reporter, and you report fake news.” He went on to call her “loud” and “boisterous” while dismissing CNN as “fake news.” The White House offered no comment on the social media posts.
Attacks on journalists have become a pattern throughout Trump’s presidency. His criticisms of women reporters at CNN have grown sharper in recent months. At the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in July, he told anchor Kaitlan Collins she should “just smile.” He also likened her appearance to transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
CNN defended Holmes in a statement, calling her “one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House.”
The network rejected the attacks “in the strongest possible terms.” CNN correspondent Alayna Treene called the remarks “a horrible thing to say.” Senior reporter Betsy Klein added that bringing Holmes’s children into it was “disgusting and inhumane.”
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
