Trump snaps at Reuters reporter over travel question as 'Morning Joe' hosts point to his age
Key Takeaways
- •President Trump insulted a Reuters reporter who asked whether he was sick of traveling, calling the journalist sick, out of shape, and disgusting after an event in South Carolina.
- •The White House rapid response account publicized the confrontation on X, framing it as President Trump decisively defeating what it called fake news.
- •MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said the outburst continues a pattern of about a month in which the president has reacted with rage to simple, routine questions, calling the behavior troubling for White House staff and Americans.
- •Panelist Jonathan Lemire said White House aides have long said the president cannot hear well and frequently leans in to ask people to repeat themselves.
- •According to Lemire, Trump likely misheard the question about being sick of traveling and thought the reporter was calling him ill, a dynamic his niece Mary Trump has connected to his reluctance to use a hearing aid for fear of appearing weak.
President Donald Trump snapped at a reporter on Thursday after being asked a routine question following an event in South Carolina, and the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" said the outburst was the latest sign that the president's age is clearly showing.
The exchange began when a Reuters reporter asked Trump whether he was "sick of traveling" across the country for his events.
"Oh, you are sick to ask that question," Trump said, beginning to walk away. "You are sick. Who you with? You are a sick guy! Reuters is terrible, by the way. Look at this guy — he's way out of shape... You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell."
The White House rapid response account cast the moment as a takedown of the press, writing on X: "@POTUS absolutely DESTROYS Fake News @jacobbogage" (post).
"Uhhhhhh," Joe Scarborough said at the top of the show after the video aired (clip). He suggested that Trump's remarks about the reporter being "out of shape" and mentally unwell amounted to "the pot calling the kettle black."
"Donald Trump is giving lectures now on people's mental health," Scarborough said. "Just a couple of things. Number one, what he's saying about canceling and why he canceled is a lie. Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from Republican operatives who said, and I am quoting them, this race has been gone for a week. That's what Republicans are saying. Democrats were shocked that the president canceled at the last minute, but they did so because they feel like Roger Marshall has blown that race."
Scarborough added that the scene should be "troubling for people inside the White House and for Americans," noting that people are asking the president "very simple, basic questions" and he is "flying off in an absolute rage."
He said the pattern has been going on for about a month, with the president reacting angrily to basic questions anyone would ask a president.
"This one flies off in this crazed rage, and you just kind of worry if he's okay?" Scarborough said. "I'm worried about him."
Panelist Jonathan Lemire noted that aides inside the White House have been saying for a while that the president simply cannot hear anymore, and that he frequently must lean in and ask people to repeat themselves. According to Lemire, Trump's niece Mary Trump has pointed out on several occasions that the president does not like to show weakness, meaning that needing a hearing aid would likely make him feel weak, even if it meant he could hear what people were saying.
"He clearly misheard the question the reporter asked: Are you sick of traveling?" Lemire said. "And Trump didn't hear the traveling part and responded like, oh, you think I'm sick? And that's what prompted that whole thing."
