Mary Bruce is ABC’s chief White House correspondent, and she was let into the Oval Office with a few others to question the president and visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She asked Trump whether it was appropriate for his family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while he was president.
Before he could say anything, she directed a question to the Saudi leader:
“Your Royal Highness, the U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you? And the same to you, Mr. President.”
After asking Bruce who she worked for, Trump called ABC “fake news” and defended his family’s business operations in Saudi Arabia.
What she was asking about is the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and a Virginia resident, who also happened to not be a fan of the Saudi kingdom.
For his part, Prince Mohammed said Khashoggi’s death was painful and “a huge mistake.”
Trump called Bruce out for asking the prince a “horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question.” When she asked why the White House was waiting for congressional action to release the Epstein files, “Why not just do it now?” His answer was direct and clear:
“It’s not the question that I mind,” Trump said. “It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.”
“…people are wise to your hoax.”
“I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong. And we have a great (FCC) commissioner, the chairman, who should look at that because I think when you come in and you’re 97% negative to Trump. And then Trump wins the election in a landslide. That means, obviously, your news is not credible. And you’re not credible as a reporter.”