Donald Trump’s administration escalated his war with the press — and particularly with women reporters — by invoking a White House correspondent’s children after she simply asked the president a pointed question during an Oval Office Q&A. CNN reporter Kirsten Holmes on Monday asked the president to respond to recent remarks from Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who had claimed Trump would “rather travel with your aide Natalie Harp and build the ballroom than do your job as president,” Holmes said.
In response, Trump called Ossoff a “Pee-wee Herman look-alike” and deflected from the question about Harp, then shouted “quiet” at Holmes and called her “disrespectful” and a “fake reporter” for asking why he decided to pull back from U.S. and South Korea military drills. The White House “rapid response” account on X lambasted Holmes for asking a “disgusting and inhumane question” that her children will be “sickened and embarrassed” by. It’s quite troubling.” CNN and Holmes’ colleagues have come to her defense while admonishing the White House for crossing a rarely breached line — referencing someone’s children — when it comes to the president’s targeted attacks against the media in his years-long campaign to undermine critical reporting.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment or for information about who wrote the post and manages the X account. Holmes later appeared on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper and OutFront with Erin Burnett but did not directly address Trump’s personal attacks. Tapper said Trump responded “as he often does with tough, smart women,” while Burnett said Holmes’s “legitimatic” questions “clearly hit a nerve” with Trump.
Anderson Cooper said on his AC360 that Trump did “that thing he does with reporters, especially women who are doing their jobs.” “It was certainly not an unreasonable question to ask,” Cooper said. CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene called the Rapid Response post “a horrible to thing to say.” “Kristen is an incredible reporter, person and, above all, mother,” Treene wrote. Period.” “Kristen is an incredible colleague and an incredible mother, I am so so so impressed by her and everything she’s accomplished,” wrote CNN producer DJ Judd.
Kristen is a good reporter. And I’m sure her kids are proud of their mom.” Stephanie Grisham, who served as White House press secretary during Trump’s first term, called the X post “cowardly and pathetic.” “Don’t hide behind a White House account,” she wrote. He has repeatedly threatened to revoke broadcast licenses for news networks over critical coverage or stories he doesn’t like and has unsuccessfully sued top networks and newspapers for defamation.
Trump’s Federal Communications Commission’s chair Brendan Carr has also launched probes into public broadcasting services NPR and PBS and revived complaints into ABC, CBS and NBC. But Trump’s most direct attacks routinely target women, including CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, who Trump recently berated during the White House Correspondents Association dinner in July. He also walked out of a recent sit-down interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, who he called “crooked or stupid” before saying “thank you, darling” and leaving the room.
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